Wildcats Square Off Against Firebirds Saturday

Daemen Looks To Extend Winning Streak To Seven Games

1/20/2023 10:02:00 AM

GAME #18
Daemen Wildcats (11-6, 4-3 ECC) vs. District of Columbia Firebirds (6-10, 4-3 ECC)
DATE: Saturday, Jan. 21
TIME: 3 p.m.
LOCATION: Washington, D.C. | E.B Henderson Complex
LIVE STATS: via UDC Athletics / LIVE VIDEO: via ECC Network

JUMP BALL
Daemen travels to our nation's capital for an East Coast Conference game against the University of the District of Columbia Saturday. It will mark the second of four-straight road games for the Wildcats.

LAST TIME OUT
Junior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) scored 10 of his team-high 16 points in the second half to lead the Daemen to a 56-53 victory over upset-minded D'Youville this past Tuesday at College Center Gym on the D'Youville campus. Fasoyiro connected on 5-of-10 shots and also contributed seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) made 6-of-8 free throws—including two big ones in the final seconds—and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Fellow senior Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) played 36 minutes and scored seven points, while redshirt senior Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) added six points, five rebounds and three blocks. Junior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.), the reigning ECC Player of the Week, was limited to just one point, but equaled his career-high with 10 rebounds. Junior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) added nine points and six rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. Freshman Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) returned to action after missing five games due to injury and chipped in five points in 11 minutes.

THE STREAK IS OVER
Daemen ranks fourth among ECC teams in three-pointers made (130), but the Wildcats came up empty (0-for-10) from downtown during their win at D'Youville earlier this week. Daemen failed to make a three-pointer in a game for the first time since the 2012-13 season—a stretch of 295-straight games.

SIX STRAIGHT
Daemen has won six straight, and seven of its last eight, games. The six game winning streak is currently the longest in the East Region. Bentley had its 12 game winning streak snapped Wednesday night by New Haven.

CLOSE CALLS
Nine of Daemen's 17 games have been decided by eight points or less and the Wildcats are 4-5 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. Daemen has come out on the winning end in its last three close games, defeating regionally-ranked Franklin Pierce 59-51, posting a 79-75 win at Staten Island and defeating D'Youville 56-53 earlier this week.

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 in early December, the Wildcats have shot 49-percent from the field overall (274-553) and have canned 87-of-205 (42%) three-point attempts over the last 10 games.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen leads the ECC in both team defense (65.2 papg) and field goal percentage defense (.414). The Wildcats have held seven of their last nine opponents to less than 70 points and are 9-2 overall this season when they hold their opponent under 70 points.

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 149-62 record for a .706 winning percentage.

HOME SWEET HOME
Daemen played 10 of its first 16 games at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats are 7-3 this season and 87-18 (.829) 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 170-72 (.702) 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 15 of the 17 games. He scored a career-high 20 points in a loss to Slippery Rock and is averaging 12.3 points (second on the team). He also ranks second on the team in three-pointers made (27) and third among the ECC leaders in free throw percentage (48-57/.842).

MINUTE MAN
Senior Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) has played at least 30 minutes in 13 of the 17 games this season and is averaging 31.2 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 14 points in the loss to Molloy and is averaging 6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and a team-high 3.2 assists per game. He is 12 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 219 points and 108 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 (12.9 ppg) and ranks second in the ECC in blocks (43). He is also tied for the team lead in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and ranks second in steals (27). He is a one time ECC Player of the Week selection and two time ECC Defensive Player of the Week honoree.

DIALING LONG DISTANCE
Junior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) connected on 7-of-9 three-pointers and scored a season-high 22 points in last week's win over Roberts Wesleyan. It marked the second time tis season he has made seven three-pointers in a game (at St. Thomas Aquinas on Dec. 9). 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 (32.2) and is averaging 10.4 points. He ranks third among the ECC leaders in three-pointers made (45) and ranks sixth among all Division II players in three-point field goal percentage (45-91/.495).

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 10 games and leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and steals (20) over that stretch. He scored a career-high 31 points in the win over Staten Island on Jan. 6.

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 16 of 17 games this season and is averaging 18.7 minutes off the bench. He scored a career-high 16 points in the win over Cheyney and totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds during a win over Alliance en route to his first career double-double. He equaled his career-high for points (16) and established a new career-high for rebounds (14), assists (6) and blocks (4) in last week's win over Roberts Wesleyan. He leads the team in offensive rebounds (42) and is tied with Atkins for the team lead in total rebounds per game (6.4). He is averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds during the current six-game winning streak and was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week last week.

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 missed five games due to injury, but returned to action this past Tuesday against D'Youville.

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. 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. Daemen's roster also includes brothers Payton and Preston Shumpert (Syracuse, N,.Y.). Their father played collegiately at Syracuse University.

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 ninth D2SIDA East Region poll released Jan. 16.

SCOUTING DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
District of Columbia returns eight players from last year's team that went 9-20 overall and 8-10 in the ECC. Mike Riley is in his 10th season as head coach. The Firebirds have won three of their last four games and are coming off a 79-75 win at Roberts Wesleyan this past Monday. 12 of UDC's 16 games have been decided by seven points or less and the Firebirds are just 3-9 in those games. Newcomer Michael Aikent, who at NAIA Wiley College last year, scored 21 points in a win over Queens last week and is averaging a team-high 15.3 points. Senior guard Jamir Marable-Williams is averaging 11.6 points. He also leads the ECC in assists per game (6.1) and ranks second among the league leaders in steals (36). Sophomore forward Hartnel Haye is averaging 10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds, while junior forward Michah Campbell is averaging 8.8 points and leads the team in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and blocks (30). Graduate student Juanye Colon is averaging 9.4 points and has made a team-high 32 three-pointers. D'Youville was picked fourth in the ECC preseason coaches' poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. UDC
Series Record: Daemen, 15-2
At Daemen: Daemen, 8-1
At UDC, Daemen, 7-1
Last Year: Daemen 74, UDC 64 | Dec. 20, 2021 | at Washington, D.C. / Daemen 66, UDC 58 | Jan. 30, 2022 | Amherst, N.Y.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen is idle until next weekend when it travels to Molloy (Jan. 27) and Queens (Jan. 29) for ECC games.

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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