Andy Lewis

Wildcats Travel To Pace For Non-Conference Game Monday

12/18/2022 10:10:00 AM

GAME #11
Daemen Wildcats (5-5, 1-3 ECC) vs. Pace Setters (9-3, 2-3 NE-10)
DATE: Monday, Dec. 19
TIME: 6 p.m.
LOCATION: Pleasantville, N.Y. | Ann and Alfred Goldstein Health, Fitness & Recreation Center
LIVE STATS: via Pace Athletics / LIVE VIDEO: via NE-10 Network

JUMP BALL
Daemen travels to Pace of the Northeast-10 Conference in a non-league tilt Monday (Dec. 19). Both teams are ranked in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen evened its record to 5-5 on the year following an 87-57 victory over Clarion Wednesday night at Lumsden Gymnasium. Daemen shot a season-high 60-percent from the field overall and made 12 three-pointers in the game. It marked the third-straight game the Wildcats have made 10 or more three-pointers. Five players scored in double figures for the Wildcats. Redshirt senior Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) connected on 7-of-12 shots and totaled 14 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Payton Shumpert (Syracuse, N.Y.) added a career-high 13 points off the bench, as he connected on 5-of-8 shots overall and made 3-of-6 from downtown. Junior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point land and totaled 12 points, while classmate Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) chipped in 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

CLOSE CALLS
Five of Daemen's 10 games have been decided by five points or less and the Wildcats are just 1-4 in those contests. The Wildcats lost at the final buzzer against Mercyhurst (62-61) and opened ECC play with tight losses to Molloy (72-69) and Queens (70-65). The Wildcats also suffered a 72-70 loss at nationally-ranked Saint Thomas Aquinas.

A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
After shooting just 33-percent (47-143) from the field overall and making just 5-of-41 three-pointers during back-to-back losses to Molloy and Queens, the Wildcats have shot over 50-percent from the field overall and have canned 35-of-73 (48%) three-point attempts over the last three games.

200TH NCAA DIVISION II GAME
The game against Molloy back on Dec. 2 was Daemen's 200th as a NCAA Division II member. Since Daemen gained full NCAA status prior to the 2015-16 season, the Wildcats have posted a 143-61 record for a .700 winning percentage. Daemen is 11-7 against NE-10 teams since the 2015-16 season.

HOME SWEET HOME
Daemen will play eight of its first 12 games at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats are 84-18 (.824) at home during Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present).

RETURN OF THE MAC
Mike MacDonald returns for his ninth season on Daemen's bench and his 26^th overall as a collegiate head coach. The veteran mentor has led Daemen to a 164-71 (.700) 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. He has won more games at Daemen than during previous stints as the head coach at Canisius (108 wins in nine seasons) and Medaille (149 wins in eight seasons). 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, 2021 was the 400th of his career.

NEW LOOK WILDCATS
Daemen returns 10 players from last year and welcomes six freshmen and three transfers. The Wildcats finished 20-9 overall and 16-2 in the ECC last year. The Wildcats suffered a 59-48 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in the championship game of the ECC Tournament and were denied an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Daemen was looking to make its fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Daemen must overcome the loss of center Andrew Sischo, a three-time All-America selection who closed out his career as the ECC's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. He averaged 22.9 points and a Division II leading 13.0 rebounds per game last year. Not to be overlooked, guard Sean Fasoyiro was also lost to graduation. Fasoyiro ranked second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) last year and collected All-ECC honors in each of his two seasons at Daemen. Shooting guard Kyle Harris, who led the team in three-point field goals (58) last year, was also lost to graduation. Senior guards Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) and Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.), redshirt senior Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) and junior guard Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) top the list of returning players. Salzberg started 26 games last year and averaged 7.3 points with a team-high 91 assists. MacDonald averaged 20 minutes off the bench and contributed 7.2 points per game with 43 three-pointers. Atkins played in 27 of 29 games last year and ranked second on the team in blocks (21). Mason started 23 games and ranked third on the team in points per game (9.1) and second in three-pointers (56).

MR. CONSISTENT
Senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) has scored in double figures in nine of the first 10 games and has drained at least one three-pointer in every game. He scored a career-high 20 points in a loss to Slippery Rock and is averaging a team-high 13.7 points. He ranks second on the team in three-pointers made (18) and fifth among the ECC leaders in free throw percentage (33-40/.825).

MINUTE MAN
Senior Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) has played at least 30 minutes in seven of the 10 games this season and is averaging a team-high 30.1 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 14 points in the loss to Molloy and is averaging 6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and a team-high 2.8 assists per game.

BREAKOUT YEAR FOR ATKINS
Redshirt senior Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) is off to the most productive start to a season of his collegiate career. After totaling just 131 points and 89 rebounds over his first two seasons (one at Jefferson, one and Daemen), he has already totaled 116 points and 63 rebounds this year. He totaled a career-high 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds en route to his first career double-double during a loss to Queens on Dec. 4. The MVP of the season-opening East Region Challenge, he is second on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg), steals (19) and blocks (22).

RECORD TYING EFFORT BY MASON
Junior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) connected on 7-of-11 three-pointers and scored 21 points in a recent loss to St. Thomas Aquinas. The seven three-pointers tied Daemen's NCAA-era (2015-present) record for three-pointers in a game originally set by current assistant coach Jeff Redband. Redband made seven three-pointers in a game four times during his career, most recently on Feb. 7, 2020 during a loss at Bridgeport. Mason has now connected on 15-of-22 (68%) three-pointers over the last three games. He ranks third among the ECC leaders in three-pointers made (26) and leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (26-51/.510).

SUDDEN IMPACT
Junior transfer Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) has made immediate contributions in his first season with the Wildcats. Slowed by a preseason injury early in the year, he has averaged 27.2 minutes and a team-high 13.2 points over the last six games. He also ranks third in both rebounds per game (6.3) and steals (11) over the last six games. He scored a career-high 18 points and also dished out a career-high five assists in a recent win over Mercy.

SOLID SIXTH MAN
Junior forward Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) has proven to be a solid sixth man this season. Sidelined by injury most of his first two seasons, he has played in nine of 10 games this season and is averaging 18 minutes off the bench. He scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds during the win over Alliance en route to his first career double-double. He ranks second on the team in offensive rebounds (24) and is averaging 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds overall.

HEY ROOKIE
Freshman guard Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) had a successful collegiate debut, as he was also named to the all-tournament team following the season-opening East Region Challenge. He started both games and averaged 10.0 points and 25.5 minutes per game. He drilled three three-pointers and scored 15 points in the win over regionally-ranked Saint Anselm. Glover has started seven games and is averaging 6.2 points per game.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS
The Daemen program has been built on sustained success, winning at least 19 games in 10 of the last 11 seasons. That span encompasses the end of Daemen's NAIA Era, its NCAA transition period and the first seven seasons of full NCAA Division II membership. The Wildcats have won 72% of their contests, going 227-90 in that span.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
Coach MacDonald's son Nick is a senior guard at Daemen. He transferred to Daemen after playing his first two seasons at Division I Niagara. Also, junior guard Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) is the younger brother of Sean Fasoyiro, who played the last two seasons at Daemen and earned all-conference honors each year.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
Daemen earned three consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament berths from 2019 to 2021. 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 in the opening round. The Wildcats then upset top-seeded Saint Thomas Aquinas in the regional championship game en route to the program's first regional championship and Elite Eight appearance. Daemen posted a 20-9 record last year, but was denied an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

POLL POSITION
Daemen was voted first in the ECC preseason coaches' poll and was also receiving votes in the preseason NABC Division II poll. The Wildcats are ranked 10th in the fifth D2SIDA East Region poll.

SCOUTING PACE
Pace is a member of the Northeast 10 Conference. The Setters return just five players from last year's team that went 20-10 overall and 14-5 in the NE-10. Pace advanced to the semifinals of the NE-10 Tournament last year and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Setters defeated Dominican in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, before suffering a 96-84 OT loss to top-seeded Bentley in the second round. Matt Healing in his eighth season as head coach. The Setters improved to 9-3 following a 79-77 win at nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas Saturday. Veterans Bryan and Brandon Powell top the list of returning players. Bryan collected first-team All NE-10 honors last year, while Brandon was a third team selection. Bryan totaled 18 points and nine rebounds in a recent win over Felician and is averaging 13.4 points and 5.9 rebounds. Brandon netted 20 points in the win over STAC and is averaging 15.9 points with a team-high 33 three-pointers. Additional production has come from junior transfer Lyron Bennett and graduate student Marc Dadika. Bennett spent his first two seasons at Southern Connecticut State. He has started all 12 games and is averaging 11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and a team-high 4.8 assists. Dadika scored 18 points in a recent loss to nationally-ranked Bentley and is averaging 8.8 points. Pace was picked second in the NE-10 preseason coaches' poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. PACE
Series Record: Daemen, 2-0
At Daemen: Daemen, 2-0
At Pace: 0-0
Last Meeting: Daemen 83, Pace 72 | Jan. 5, 2022 | Amherst, N.Y.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen is idle until Dec. 30 when it hosts Cheyney University in a non-conference game.

Daemen University features the premier 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.

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

Print Friendly Version