Geoff Schneider

Wildcats Look To Extend Conference Winning Streak Monday At UDC

12/19/2021 11:00:00 AM

GAME #12
Daemen Wildcats (5-6, 3-0 ECC) vs. Dist. Columbia Firebirds (3-9, 2-1 ECC)
Monday, Dec. 20 | 5 p.m. | UDC Athletic Complex | Washington, D.C.
Watch (ECC Network)
Live Stats
Game Notes (PDF)

JUMP BALL
Daemen returns to East Coast Conference play and wraps up the pre-Christmas portion of their 2021-22 schedule Monday when visiting District of Columbia. It marks the first meeting between the teams since a 93-90 overtime thriller won by the Wildcats at home in February 2020 just prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wildcats are coming off an 83-80 non-conference loss to Franklin Pierce but have won all three of their conference games this season. Daemen is seeking their first 4-0 start to conference play since the 2014-15 campaign.

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 is the active scoring (2,467) and rebounding (1,251) 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 has scored 10+ points in 76 of his last 77 games, and has gone for 20+ points in 27 of his last 32 contests. He has 70 double-doubles in 115 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 (985). He passed Reyes for second on the ECC's all-time rebounding list during a 13-rebound outing vs. Mercyhurst. He needs 30 rebounds to become the ECC's all-time leader.

IN THE NCAA RECORD BOOK
Star center Andrew Sischo has recently entered the NCAA Division II record book for both scoring and rebounding. During Daemen's game at Le Moyne on Dec. 6, Sischo became just the 39th player in NCAA Division II history to reach 2,400 points in a career. With 2,467 points, he ranks 36th all-time. Sischo is on pace to reach 2,900 points, something only 14 other Division II players have achieved. He also ranks 15th for career rebounding with 1,251 boards. Sischo has a chance to finish his career among the top five rebounders in Division II 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 144-63 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. Daemen's 81-72 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 8 was the 400th of his career.

DEFENDING THE DEN
Success on their home floor has been a staple of Daemen's rise within the NCAA Division II ranks. The Wildcats have won 10+ home games in eight of the last 10 seasons, including identical 15-1 records during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns which established a new program benchmark for home-court victories. Dating back to the 2017-18 season, Daemen has won 45 of their last 50 home games. Since joining the ECC (2013-14 season), Daemen is 61-10 in home conference games (.859 win %). The Wildcats are also 73-14 at home during the program's NCAA era (.839 win %). In the past 21 seasons, the Wildcats have won 83% of all home games, going 228-47.

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 with 97 games of playing experience under his belt to start the year. 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 71% of their contests, going 211-85 in that span. Looking more recently, Daemen is 85-34 since the start of the 2017-18 season (.714 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.

BACK ON TRACK
Daemen was able to get back on track following the team's first three-game losing streak with back-to-back wins over ECC-newcomer Staten Island (80-61) and regionally ranked Saint Rose (83-71). The Nov. 23 win over CSI put Daemen at 1-0 in ECC play for the fourth straight season and allowed the Wildcats to avoid their first four-game slide since 2010-11. Daemen played their most complete game of the season in defeating previously unbeaten Saint Rose on Nov. 27, finishing with season-highs in points, field goal percentage (.478) and assists (19). Big man Andrew Sischo was particularly dominant, averaging 30.5 points and 12.5 rebounds while shooting nearly 70% from the field (25-for-36) in the two victories.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Daemen missed a golden opportunity for a win over a top-25 team when they suffered a 63-61 setback at #7/#4 West Liberty on Nov. 29. The Wildcats led for more than 32 minutes and held the high octane Hilltoppers under 70 points for the first time since 2018, but it wasn't enough as the hosts forced 21 turnovers and overcame a seven-point halftime deficit. Daemen was attempting to hand WLU just its sixth loss in a non-conference home game over the last 18 seasons. It marked Daemen's second loss by three points or fewer to a nationally ranked opponent this season.

BEASTS OF THE EAST
Daemen owns a 118-40 record (.746 winning percentage) in games against East Region opponents since the start of the 2014-15 season. That includes a combined 26-9 mark (.743 winning percentage) against affiliates of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and Northeast 10 Conference.

GROUNDING THE REDHAWKS
Daemen's 81-72 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 8 was their 30th of the last 32 meetings dating back to the 2007-08 season. That includes wins in 13 straight meetings at Lumsden Gymnasium.

BUFFALO'S BIGGEST STAGE
For the second time in the last three seasons, Daemen got the opportunity to play at the KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo. The 19,000-seat arena has served as the host site for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament six times since opening in 1996 in addition to being the home of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. Daemen's most recent trip was not as successful as the first. The Wildcats dropped an 83-81 decision to regionally ranked Franklin Pierce on Dec. 18. The game was played as part of the Big Four Basketball Tripleheader which also featured Division I contests between Niagara and Albany and also Canisius and Buffalo. Daemen made their KeyBank Center debut with an 83-81 win over Wilmington on Nov. 23, 2019. Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald is the all-time leader in coaching wins in the building with an 18-12 record there.

SCOUTING DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The District of Columbia Firebirds are led by head coach Mike Riley. A former assistant to John Thompson at Georgetown, Riley has led the UDC program since the 2013-14 season, guiding the Firebirds to 72 wins and three conference tournament berths. The Firebirds opted out of the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just two players – junior guards Jahmir Marable-Williams and Juanye Colon – return from the Firebirds' 2019-20 team that finished 11-17 overall and 6-10 in ECC play.

The Firebirds are off to a 3-9 start but have won two of their last three games, knocking off ECC foes Queens (74-62) and D'Youville (83-69). Their lone recent loss was a one-point setback (64-63) to Mountain East Conference affiliate Frostburg State.

Newcomer Kenyon Stone, a transfer from NAIA affiliate Pikeville, has made an immediate impact and ranks among the ECC leaders in scoring (2nd – 16.2 ppg), rebounding (5th – 6.8 rpg) and field goal percentage (5th - .545). Stone has scored 25 points in three of the last four games, including in Friday's win over D'Youville.

Marable-Williams (10.1 ppg) and freshman guard Tevin Curtis (11.0 ppg) are also producing double-figure scoring. Marable-Williams narrowly missed a rare triple-double against D'Youville, finishing with 15 points, 12 assists and nine boards. Freshman guard Phillip Brown, Jr. (9.6 ppg) is the reigning ECC Rookie of the Week after netting a season-high 15 points vs. Chestnut Hill on Dec. 7.

SERIES HISTORY VS. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
All-Time Series: 13-2
At UDC: 6-1
Current Streak: Won 8
Last Meeting: Daemen 93, UDC 90 (OT) | Feb. 21, 2020 | at Amherst, N.Y.

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