AMHERST, N.Y. - For the first time since the 2019-20 season the Daemen College men's basketball team is ranked among the Top 25 Division II teams in the country by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The Wildcats are ranked 24th in the NABC Division II poll released today.
Led by veteran head coach Mike MacDonald, Daemen has won 12 straight games and sits at 17-6 overall. The Wildcats own a perfect 14-0 mark in East Coast Conference play and are the only team in the East Region without a conference loss. Daemen is one of two teams from the East Region ranked in this week's NABC Top 25. Bentley University, a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, is ranked 17th. Daemen had been receiving votes in each of the last four NABC polls.
The Wildcats extended their winning streak with a 97-52 defeat of Western New York rival D'Youville last Wednesday night. The Wildcats sank 14 three-pointers for the third straight game and saw five players reach double figures. The 45-point margin of victory tied the program record for any win during Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present).
Daemen has been buoyed all season by Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.), who was named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 50 Watch List earlier today. Sischo, a 6-foot-9 graduate student, leads the ECC in both scoring (21.9 ppg) and rebounding (13.5 rpg). He leads all NCAA Division II players in rebounding and double-doubles (19) while ranking 12th in scoring. He has put up 20 or more points in 13 games so far this season, including a quintet of 30-point outings.
The Wildcats are also getting double-figure scoring from graduate student guard Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) and sophomore guard Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.). Fasoyiro is averaging 12.6 points and 6.1 rebounds and leads the team in assists (72) and steals (23). Mason has made a team-high 54 three-pointers and is averaging 10.0 points. He leads the ECC and ranks second among all Division II players in three-point field goal percentage (.495). Additional production has come from graduate student Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) and junior Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.). Harris ranks second on the team in three-pointers (51) and is averaging 9.1 points. Salzberg is contributing 7.0 points and 3.3 assists per game.
Nova Southeastern University, the lone undefeated team in Division II, sits atop the NABC poll for the second straight week. West Liberty University (No. 2), Indiana University of Pennsylvania (No. 3), Lubbock Christian University (No. 4) and Augustana University (No. 5) round out the top five.
Daemen, which owns the longest winning streak in the East Region, sits atop the ECC standings and has already clinched a top-two seed in next month's conference tournament. A huge showdown with second-place St. Thomas Aquinas College kicks off the Wildcats' final home stand of the regular season this Friday. Daemen handed STAC (20-4, 13-1 ECC) its only conference loss of the season to date, a 73-61 final at Aquinas Hall last month. STAC is receiving votes in this week's NABC poll. The home stand wraps up Sunday with the Wildcats entertaining Mercy College. Five Daemen players will be recognized as part of the program's Senior Day celebration on Sunday.
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.
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