AMHERST, N.Y. - For the second consecutive season, Daemen College redshirt junior center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District First Team. The announcement of NABC All-District Teams was made today following a vote of member coaches from NCAA Division II institutions.
It's the latest in a string of accolades for Daemen's star player who also repeated as the East Coast Conference and NCAA Division II East Region Player of the Year, the latter award coming from the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association. He's also a top-25 finalist for the prestigious Bevo Francis Award given annually to the best college basketball player from the non-Division I ranks, and recently earned Academic All-American honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Sischo appeared in 31 of Daemen's 32 games and averaged 24.9 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, while shooting 65 percent from the field, 45 percent from three-point range and 74 percent from the free throw line. He's just the fourth Division II player since the 2010-11 season to average at least 24 points and 11 rebounds per game, and the only one of those four to also shoot at least 60 percent from the field.
Sischo racked up 22 double-doubles, ranking first among all Division II players. He also placed himself among the Division II leaders in rebounding (2nd), scoring (8th) and field goal percentage (10th) while leading Daemen to their second-straight berth in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, although the tournament was ultimately canceled in an unprecedented decision due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
Sischo entered the 2019-20 season with high expectations after being named the East Coast Conference Preseason Player of the Year for the second-straight year. He more than lived up to the preseason hype, as he led the Wildcats to wins in 11 of their first 12 games and a No. 8 ranking in both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Division II Sports Information Director Association national polls. The Wildcats finished the year with a 24-8 overall record and got plenty of big outings from Sischo along the way. He posted 24 games of 20+ points and reached 30 points six times, including a team-record performance in Daemen's win over Queens College in the opening round of the ECC Championship tournament. Sischo torched the Knights for 47 points on 19-of-29 shooting, breaking Rob Robinson's single-game scoring record that had stood since 1991.
Not a single Division II player grabbed more total rebounds than Sischo's 362, a total that ranks third in program history and eighth in ECC history for a single season. Sischo also set Daemen and ECC single-season records for total points (773, fifth in Division II) and made field goals (298, second in Division II).
A five-time ECC Player of the Week and two-time Division II National Player of the Week from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, Sischo was named to the all-tournament team at the season-opening Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame Classic, again at the Daemen-hosted ECC-CACC Challenge in early November and also at the ECC Championship tournament.
Already Daemen's all-time leader in made field goals (722), Sischo has cemented his place among Daemen's all-time greats as the only player in team history to total at least 1,800 points and 900 rebounds. In 89 games played, he's totaled 1,820 points (fourth all-time), 906 rebounds (fourth all-time), 356 made free throws (seventh all-time) and 88 blocked shots (seventh all-time). He's also posted 47 double-doubles. The Wildcats are 70-22 during Sischo's three seasons on the hardwood.
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.
