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The Daemen men's basketball team plays at the 19,000-seat KeyBank Center for the first time this season

Men's Basketball To Play At KeyBank Center In Late November

Wildcats' Game Vs. Wilmington Comes As Part Of Doubleheader With Canisius vs. St. Bonaventure

8/28/2019 4:30:00 PM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

AMHERST, N.Y. - A schedule that already features several high profile opponents and venues just got even sweeter as the Daemen College men's basketball team will play for the first time ever at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo. The Wildcats will welcome non-conference foe Wilmington University to the 19,000-seat arena on Saturday, Nov. 23 for a noon tip-off. The game is part of a doubleheader with Big 4 rivals Canisius College and St. Bonaventure University tipping off at approximately 2:30 p.m.

In addition to housing the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League, KeyBank Center has been Buffalo's marquee basketball venue since its opening in 1996. It's been the site of first and second round games for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament six times, most recently in 2017, and has hosted numerous regular season contests throughout the years, primarily involving Big 4 schools Canisius, St. Bonaventure, Niagara University and the University at Buffalo.

"We are excited to give our team the chance to play on the biggest stage in Buffalo," said Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald, now entering his sixth season with the program. "It's great that we can be involved in a doubleheader with programs like Canisius and St. Bonaventure that have such rich basketball histories. This will offer an excellent chance for fans in Western New York to see us play, and to get a feel for just how high a level Division II college basketball is."

The Wildcats will make their KeyBank Center debut in a season that already has them playing some big time games. The season opens with back-to-back exhibition bouts against Division I foes Buffalo (Thursday, Oct. 24) and Syracuse University (Saturday, Oct. 26), the latter coming in the 34,000-seat (for basketball) Carrier Dome which will easily be the largest facility a Daemen team has ever played in. The following weekend (Nov. 1-2) has Daemen partaking in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at the St. Joseph (Mo.) Civic Arena, including their regular-season opener against defending Division II national champion Northwest Missouri State University. The Wildcats will also face Mercyhurst University (home, Nov. 14) and St. Anselm College (away, Jan. 1) which each advanced to the Elite Eight last season, as well as Sweet 16 team West Liberty University (home, Nov. 16).

"When you look at our early season schedule, you can put it up with any schedule in the country," said MacDonald. "Alumni Arena versus Buffalo, Carrier Dome versus Syracuse, two games in the Kansas City area, big time home games in Lumsden Gymnasium and a game at the Key Bank Center. When you factor in the nationally-ranked teams we're playing in addition to the great facilities, it's easy to see that our student-athletes are getting a high-quality experience, and that's only the first month."

While MacDonald's players may be experiencing KeyBank Center for the first time come November, that won't be the case for the veteran mentor. Nobody has coached more games or recorded more wins there than MacDonald who owns a 17-11 career head coaching record at the downtown venue, all during his nine-year stint (1997-06) as the head coach at Canisius. Including his time as an assistant coach with the Griffs, MacDonald has coached in 40 total games at KeyBank Center.

An announcement regarding ticket availability will be made in early September. Tickets will cost $25 with a limited number of courtside seats available for $35. Groups of 20 or more will be able to purchase a block of group tickets, with each ticket being priced at $20. To purchase group tickets, please call (716) 888-8286.

Daemen, which was ranked as high as No. 10 in the Division II national polls last season, is coming off a 24-6 campaign that featured the program's first-ever NCAA Division II national tournament berth. Ten players return to the roster, including incumbent starters Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.), Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.), Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) and Breon Harris(Niagara Falls, N.Y.). The quartet holds a combined 298 games of collegiate experience. Sischo, a 6-foot-9 redshirt junior center, cemented his place on the regional and national scenes last season, averaging 20.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game en route to ECC and East Region Player of the Year honors.

The Daemen-Wilmington game was originally scheduled to be played at the latter's campus in Delaware. In addition to moving the game to KeyBank Center, Daemen has rescheduled a road contest vs. University of the Sciences for Saturday, Nov. 30 (originally planned for Sunday, Nov. 24).

Daemen College features the only NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

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