Andy Lewis

Wildcats Return To Conference Play Wednesday Against Rival Redhawks

Daemen Has Won Four Straight And Six Of Its Last Seven

1/10/2023 2:57:00 PM

GAME #16
Daemen Wildcats (9-6, 2-3 ECC) vs. Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks (5-8, 3-2 ECC)
DATE: Wednesday, Jan. 11
TIME: 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
LIVE STATS: via Daemen Athletics / LIVE VIDEO: via ECC Network / TICKETS: via Daemen Athletics

JUMP BALL
Daemen returns to East Coast Conference play when it hosts long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan on Wednesday night at Lumsden Gymnasium.

TEMPORARY SPECTATOR POLICY
Due to damage that occurred during Winter Storm Elliott in December, Daemen University has closed Duns Scotus Hall for repairs. While we have taken all necessary precautions to secure the building, we must make alternate arrangements for spectators who normally enter Lumsden Gymnasium through Duns Scotus Hall. Until further notice, all spectators attending athletic events at Lumsden Gymnasium are required to enter through the lobby doors on the Main Street side of the building. This is the only point of entrance and exit unless there is an emergency. Spectators are encouraged to park in Parking Lot A near the Main Street entrance to campus. Parking on Main Street in front of Lumsden Gymnasium is also available and there are sidewalks from both locations leading to the Lumsden Gymnasium lobby entrance. Daemen Athletics thanks our fans and other guests for their adherence to this policy.

LAST TIME OUT
Five players scored in double figures to lead Daemen to an 88-74 victory over Assumption this past Monday in non-conference action at Lumsden Gymnasium. Daemen has now won four straight and six of its last seven games. The Wildcats improved to 9-6 overall. Assumption, a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, suffered its fourth-straight loss and dropped to 5-10. Daemen finished 3-1 this year against the NE-10 and 7-3 overall in non-conference games. Daemen entered today's game ranked ninth in the latest NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region poll. Redshirt senior Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) scored 15 of his game-high 18 points in the second half and also contributed seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Junior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) went 4-of-5 from three-point land and totaled 16 points and four rebounds Junior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) played 35 minutes and contributed 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Junior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored in double figures for the third time in the past four games and finished with 12 points in just 10 minutes off the bench.

CLOSE CALLS
Eight of Daemen's 15 games have been decided by eight points or less and the Wildcats are 3-5 in those contests. The Wildcats lost at the final buzzer against regionally-ranked 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 and a 66-60 loss at regionally-ranked Pace. Last week Daemen defeated regionally-ranked Franklin Pierce 59-71 and capped the week with a 79-75 win at Staten Island.

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 50-percent from the field overall (229-455) and have canned 78-of-176 (44%) three-point attempts over the last eight games.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen leads the ECC in team defense (66.0 papg) and ranks fourth in field goal percentage defense (.429). The Wildcats have held five of their last seven opponents to less than 70 points and are 7-2 overall this season when they allow 70 points or less.

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 147-62 record for a .703 winning percentage.

HOME SWEET HOME
Daemen has played nine of its first 15 games at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats are 86-18 (.827) at home during Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present). Daemen has won its last 13 home games against Roberts Wesleyan and is 27-2 all-time against the Redhawks at Lumsden Gym.

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 168-72 (.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 13 of the first 15 games. He scored a career-high 20 points in a loss to Slippery Rock and is averaging 12.4 points (second on the team). He also ranks second on the team in three-pointers made (26) and second among the ECC leaders in free throw percentage (40-47/.851).

MINUTE MAN
Senior Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) has played at least 30 minutes in 11 of the 15 games this season and is averaging 30.6 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 14 points in the loss to Molloy and is averaging 6.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and a team-high 3.1 assists per game. He is 20 assists shy of 200 for his career.

BREAKOUT YEAR FOR ATKINS
Redshirt senior Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) is enjoying the most productive season of his collegiate career. After totaling just 131 points and 89 rebounds over his first two seasons (one at Jefferson, one at Daemen), he has already totaled 201 points and 98 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 leads the team in scoring (13.4 ppg), rebounding (6.5 rpg), steals (27) and blocks (35). He was named the ECC Player of the Week earlier this year and the ECC Defensive Player of the Week last week.

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 leads the team in minutes played per game (31.4) and is averaging 10.2 points. He ranks third among the ECC leaders in three-pointers made (38) and leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (38-78/.487).

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 started the last eight games and is averaging 28.3 minutes, a team-high 13.9 points and 5.9 rebounds over that stretch. He also ranks second in assists (20) and leads the team in steals (15) over the last eight games. He scored a career-high 31 points in the win over Staten Island last Friday.

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 14 of 15 games this season and is averaging 17.6 minutes off the bench. He scored a career-high 16 points in the win over Cheyney and totaled 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds during a win over Alliance en route to his first career double-double. He is tied for the team lead in offensive rebounds (34), ranks second in total rebounds per game (5.9) and is averaging 7.6 points. He has scored in double figures in three of the last four games and was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

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 5.6 points per game. He has missed the last four games due to injury.

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 ninth in the eighth D2SIDA East Region poll.

SCOUTING ROBERTS WESLEYAN
Roberts Wesleyan returns 10 players and two starters from last year's team that went 12-13 overall and 9-9 in the ECC. The Redhawks posted a 90-72 win over Queeens in the opening round of 2022 ECC Tournament, before suffering an 84-64 loss to top-seeded Saint Thomas Aquinas in the semifinals. Mark Saladzius enters his fourth full season as head coach. He took over as the interim head coach in October 2018 following the retirement of longtime head coach Rob McCoy and was named the 16th head coach in the program's history in February 2019. The Redhawks opened the 2022-23 season with five straight losses, but are 5-3 over their last eight games. Last weekend they posted a 91-88 OT win at Mercy and suffered a 108-70 loss at nationally-ranked Saint Thomas Aquinas. Veteran Ja'Kair Sanchez and newcomer Malik Brooks have paced the Redhawks thus far. Sanchez, a junior guard who led the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) last year, scored a season-high 26 points in the win over Mercy last week and is averaging a team-high 12.8 points. He also ranks second on the team in rebounds per game (6.5) and leads the team in assists (32) and steals (22). Brooks started his collegiate career playing football at Monmouth (2019-20) before transferring to Canisius to play basketball in 2020-21. He has started all 13 games for the Redhawks this season and is averaging 12.2 points. He scored a season-high 22 points in a season-opening loss to Saint Anselm during the East Region Challenge at Lumsden Gymnasium. Additional production has come from senior guard Abou Gbane (10.7 ppg) and graduate student Rian Carter (9.9 ppg, 21 3pt FGs). Roberts Wesleyan was picked fifth in the ECC preseason coaches' poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. ROBERTS WESLEYAN
Series Record: Daemen, 46-12
At Daemen: Daemen, 27-2
At RWU, Daemen, 19-9
Neutral Site: RWU, 1-0
Last Year: Daemen 81, RWU 72 | Dec. 8, 2021 | at Amherst, N.Y. / Daemen 101, RWU 71 | Feb. 2, 2022 | Rochester, N.Y.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen is idle until Tuesday (Jan. 17) when they head across town to face D'Youville in an ECC game. It will be the first of four straight road games for the Wildcats.

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.

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