Tevor Fleeman

Men's Basketball Returns To Action At Mercyhurst

Wildcats coming off COVID pause, will face nationally ranked Lakers in first game since Halloween night

11/17/2021 11:00:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for Communications/Operations

GAME #4
Daemen (1-2, 0-0 ECC) vs. #12/#15 Mercyhurst (2-0, 0-0 PSAC)
Nov. 18 | Merychurst Athletic Center | Erie, Pa.
Watch (PSAC Digital Network)
Live Stats
Game Notes (PDF)

JUMP BALL
Daemen makes its return to the hardwood Thursday night with a non-conference clash against nationally ranked Mercyhurst. The Wildcats have been idle since returning from a season-opening three-game trip to Texas for the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic. Daemen was forced to go into a COVID-19-related pause of team activities which resulted in the cancelation of two exhibition games (vs. Buffalo and Medaille) as well as the East Region Challenge tournament which was slated for this past weekend at Lumsden Gymnasium. They'll look to get back on track against a Mercyhurst team that won its opening two games by an average of 28.5 points.

RELOADED
Daemen returns 11 players, including all five starters, from their regional championship team – players responsible for 98% of scoring, 99% of rebounding and assists from a season ago. None is bigger, both literally and figuratively, than center Andrew Sischo who returns for a fifth collegiate season after averaging 26.9 points and 13.0 rebounds per game last season. Fellow All-ECC picks Sean Fasoyiro (13.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.9 apg) and Kyle Harris (12.5 ppg, 39% 3PT) also return, along with Ryan Salzberg (8.6 ppg, 36% 3PT) and Andrew Mason (12.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 49% 3PT).

A MAGICAL RUN
The Wildcats earned their third consecutive NCAA tournament berth and captured their first regional title last March. After entering the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the East Regional, the Wildcats ran to an 81-69 win over third-seeded Bloomfield in the regional semifinals, marking the program's first-ever NCAA tournament victory. The Wildcats followed up with a 71-70 defeat of top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas in the regional final, avenging a loss just nine days prior in the ECC Championship final. Andrew Sischo was named the Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional after netting 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the final. The Wildcats' run came to an end just over a week later in Evansville, Indiana where they suffered a 97-83 loss in the Elite Eight to top-seeded and eventual national runner-up West Texas A&M. The Wildcats finished with a 10-6 overall record and were ranked ninth in the final D2SIDA national media poll.

BIG MAN ON CAMPUS
Graduate student Andrew Sischo is arguably the most decorated Daemen student-athlete of all-time. He entered his final collegiate season as the active scoring (2,223) and rebounding (1,101) leader among all NCAA Division II players. A two-time consensus All-American, Sischo is coming off his finest season to date as he averaged career-highs in scoring (26.9 ppg – a Daemen single season record) and rebounding (13.0 rpg). Sischo scored 20+ points in 14 of 15 games last season and has scored 10+ points in 68 of his last 69 games. He has 62 double-doubles in 107 career games and has led Division II in double-doubles in each of the last two seasons. Sischo was named the East Conference Preseason Player of the Year for an unprecedented fourth time.

MILESTONE MOMENTS
Andrew Sischo recently surpassed a pair of milestones, adding to his collection of career achievements. In Daemen's season opener vs. Minnesota State Moorhead, Sischo became Daemen's all-time leading rebounder, supplanting Alex Nwora who had 1,103 rebounds in his career from 1989-93. The following night against Colorado Mesa, Sischo became the all-time leading scorer in East Coast Conference history, breaking the benchmark of 2,247 points set by former St. Thomas Aquinas star Justin Reyes from 2014-18. Sischo became Daemen's all-time scoring leader last season and is the first player in program history to reach 2,000 points. He is only the second player in ECC history (Reyes) with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, and he already holds Daemen and ECC records for career field goals (900). He needs just seven rebounds to pass Reyes for second in ECC history.

RETURN OF THE MAC
Mike MacDonald returns for his eighth season on Daemen's bench and his 25^th overall as a collegiate head coach. The veteran mentor has led Daemen to a 140-59 record since taking the reins in 2014. The Wildcats rank second in victories among all East Coast Conference and New York State Division II teams in that span. MacDonald is among an elite fraternity of coaches to have achieved 100 victories across all three NCAA divisions, and he enters the season just four wins shy of 400 for his career.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
Daemen's most high profile roster addition came in the form of 6-foot-5 guard Nick MacDonald, the son of head coach Mike MacDonald, who elected to transfer after two seasons at Division I Niagara. The younger MacDonald provides another three-point shooting option to an already potent team. The Wildcats ranked second in the ECC and 32^nd nationally last season by averaging 9.6 made three-pointers per game. MacDonald shot 35% from deep and connected on 50 three-pointers in his two seasons with the Purple Eagles.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Guards Sean Fasoyiro and Andrew Mason each made immediate contributions during their first season with the program in 2020-21. Fasoyiro was a first-team All-ECC and NABC All-District selection after finishing second on the team in scoring (13.9) and rebounding (7.1) while leading the squad in assists (3.9). Fasoyiro, a graduate transfer from Franklin Pierce, is competing in a fifth collegiate season and holds 97 games of playing experience under his belt. Mason burst on the scene as a freshman and started all 16 contests. He averaged 12.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while leading the ECC in three-point field goal accuracy (.487).

TEXAS-SIZED CHALLENGES
Daemen opened the season with three high-profile contests in Canyon, Texas as part of the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic held over Halloween weekend. The Wildcats knocked off Minnesota State Moorhead, 67-63, in the opener, thanks to the play of Nick MacDonald (17 points) and Andrew Sischo (16 points, 15 rebounds). The Dragons were ranked No. 25 in the D2SIDA preseason poll and picked to finish first in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. It marked the 18th time in the last 20 seasons that Daemen has started 1-0. A pair of losses to nationally ranked team followed. No. 4 Colorado Mesa got the best of the Wildcats, 76-65, using a 27-6 second-half spurt to erase a nine-point halftime deficit. Sischo was held to nine points, snapping a string of 67 consecutive double-figure games. The All-American big man was hampered by foul trouble and limited to 19 minutes – his lowest minute total since playing 10 against New York Tech on Dec. 16, 2018, a game he left due to an injury. Sischo returned to form in the tournament finale, finishing with 18 points and 15 boards, but it wasn't enough to lead Daemen past No. 3 West Texas A&M. In a rematch of last season's Elite Eight meeting. The Buffs came out on top again, this time by just three points (69-66). Sean Fasoyiro's tying three-point attempt fell short as the buzzer sounded. Both Sischo and Fasoyiro were named to the All-Tournament Team.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS
The Daemen program has been built on sustained success, winning at least 19 games in nine of the last 10 seasons. That span encompasses the end of Daemen's NAIA Era, its' NCAA transition period and the first six seasons of full NCAA Division II membership. The Wildcats have won 72% of their contests, going 207-81 in that span. Looking more recently, Daemen is 80-28 in the last four seasons (.741 winning percentage).

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
Daemen has earned three consecutive NCAA tournament berths. The Wildcats won 24 games (NCAA Era program record) and earned at-large bids to the NCAA tournament in 2019 and 2020. The Wildcats entered the 2021 tournament as the No. 2 seed in the East Region and picked up their first-ever NCAA tourney win with an 81-69 defeat of third-seeded Bloomfield en route to the program's first regional championship and Elite Eight appearance.

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
Daemen's 2021-22 schedule will provide plenty of tests. The Wildcats are slated to play games against seven teams who were ranked in either the NABC or D2SIDA preseason national polls: Minnesota State Moorhead, Colorado Mesa, West Texas A&M, Mercyhurst, West Liberty, Saint Anselm, St. Thomas Aquinas. Daemen has recorded two wins over top-25 ranked teams in each of the last three seasons.

SCOUTING MERCYHURST
Mercyhurst is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and the Lakers are led by veteran head coach Gary Manchel. Now in his 19th season with the program, Manchel has led the Lakers to a 310-190 record. The Lakers have earned three straight NCAA tournament berths, and five in the last seven seasons. Manchel has coached seven Laker teams that finished in the top 10 nationally for scoring defense, including their 2020-21 team that allowed 57.2 points per game (second in NCAA Division II).

The Lakers return 12 players from last season's squad that advanced to the Atlantic Regional semifinal and finished with a 12-1 record. Five of their top seven scorers are among the returners, headlined by senior guard MiyKah McIntosh who averaged a team-high 14.0 points per game last season. Mercyhurst was one of only three PSAC teams to compete during the 2020-21 season as the majority of the league opted out due to COVID-19.

Expectations are high as the Lakers have been ranked in both preseason national polls (No. 12 NABC; No. 21 D2SIDA). The PSAC coaches have also selected Mercyhurst to finish second in the PSAC West Division this season.

The Lakers opened with a pair of lopsided wins at the Dave Russell Conference Challenge hosted by Shepherd this past weekend. They blew the doors off Bowie State, winning 96-56, and added 77-60 defeat of Fayetteville State. Senior guard Steve Cannady is off to a fast start, averaging a team-high 17.5 points per game. McIntosh is chipping in 12.0 points per outing while newcomer Aidan Reichert is getting 11.0 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MSU MOORHEAD
All-Time Series: 2-5
At Mercyhurst: 0-3
Current Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 67, Mercyhurst 65 | Nov. 14, 2019 | at Amherst, N.Y.

DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that six of the seven all-time meetings between Daemen and Mercyhurst have been decided by nine points or less? The teams are meeting for the eighth time in the last nine seasons. Daemen has won five of their last seven contests against teams from the Atlantic Region.

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