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Juston Johnson and the Daemen men's basketball team will open the 2021-22 season in prestigious fashion at the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic in Canyon, Texas

Men's Basketball Invited To D2CCA Tip-Off Classic

Wildcats to open season with three games against NCAA tournament teams

8/16/2021 2:00:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications | (716) 839-8385 | mmiranto@daemen.edu

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team will open the 2021-22 season by participating in the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) Tip-Off Classic, facing three NCAA tournament teams in as many days, October 29-31. The D2CCA Tip-Off Classic is one of the preeminent events on the Division II basketball calendar with this year's tournament taking place at the First United Bank Center on the campus of West Texas A&M University.

"It's an honor for our program to be chosen for this prestigious season-opening tournament," said Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald who is entering his eighth season leading the Wildcats. "It's not often that you get the opportunity to play against three NCAA tournament teams right off the bat. We'll have our work cut out for us, but it will be an excellent chance to see how we stack up against some of the best teams in the country."

The Wildcats open the tournament on Friday, October 29 by facing Minnesota State Moorhead at 6:30 p.m. (all game times are Central Standard Time). The Dragons, out of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, posted an 11-5 record and advanced to the NCAA Central Regional semifinals last season.

Daemen faces another regional semifinalist on Saturday, October 30, taking on Colorado Mesa in a 6:30 p.m. tip-off. Last season, the Mavericks earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA West Regional and entered NCAA tournament play ranked No. 1 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II coaches' poll. They finished with a 21-2 record.

The tournament finale on Sunday, October 31 features a rematch of Daemen's first NCAA Elite Eight game as the Wildcats face tournament host West Texas A&M, also in a 6:30 p.m. tip-off. The Buffs scored a 97-83 victory over Daemen last March at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, en route to a national runner-up finish and a 19-3 overall mark.

Daemen, which finished the 2020-21 season with a 10-6 record and ranked ninth in the final Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll, is set to return 12 players who saw action last season, including all five starters. The roster will once again be headlined by two-time consensus All-American center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) who returns after averaging 26.9 points and 13.0 rebounds per game last season.

The D2CCA Tip-Off Classic is the second high profile tournament that Daemen has been invited to in recent years. The Wildcats tipped off the 2019-20 season by participating in the Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame Classic held in St. Joseph, Missouri where they split a pair of games.

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 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.

Follow the Daemen College men's basketball program on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.

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