Geoff M Schneider

Wildcats Ranked Seventh in D2CSC Regional Poll

11/21/2023 9:50:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Tom McDermott, Director of Athletics Communications | tmcdermo@daemen.edu

AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University men's basketball team is ranked seventh in the second Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) East Region Men's Basketball Media Poll for 2023-24. The Wildcats dropped two spots after being ranked fifth in the first poll of the 2023-24 season last week.

Daemen has been ranked in 59 of the last 67 D2CSC (formerly D2SIDA) regional polls dating back to January 2018.

Daemen played two tough road games last week and went 1-1. The Wildcats opened the week with a 64-63 win at nationally-ranked Mercyhurst University, before suffering a 75-72 setback at regionally-ranked Dominican (N.Y.) University. The loss to Dominican snapped Daemen's three-game winning streak and put the Wildcats at 4-3 on the year. Daemen has featured a balanced scoring attack and solid defense in its seven games thus far. Four of Daemen's five starters are averaging in double figures and the fifth starter is averaging 9.4 points. Four different players have led the team in scoring so far this season. Senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) has led the team in points three times this season and was named the MVP of the East Region Challenge hosted by Daemen after scoring 21 points in a 75-67 win over Goldey-Beacom. He is averaging 14.3 points and ranks second on the team in three-pointers (12). Sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) has scored in double figures in all seven games and is averaging 13.3 points and 2.6 assists. Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, is averaging 12.9 points and 6.6 rebounds and leads the ECC in steals (14). Senior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) has reached double figures in points the last four games and is averaging 11.0 points with a team-high 19 three-pointers. Senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) is contributing 9.4 points per game, while sixth man Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) is producing 7.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest.

Daemen collected 22 points in this week's regional poll. Bentley collected all six first place votes and sits atop the poll with 60 points. Saint Thomas Aquinas (49) remains second this week, while Pace (43) jumped all the way from eighth to third. Caldwell (39) and Dominican (36) round out the top five. The remainder of the poll includes Post (26, Daemen, Southern Connecticut State (16), Saint Anselm (13) and Southern New Hampshire (12).

The D2CSC East Region media poll is conducted by sports information professionals representing the East Coast Conference, Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and Northeast-10 Conference.

*D2CSC MEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION MEDIA POLL - WEEK 2*
	W-L	PTS.	LAST WEEK
1. Bentley (6)	3-1	60	1
2. Saint Thomas Aquinas	3-1	49	T2
3. Pace	4-0	43	8
4. Caldwell	3-0	39	4
5. Dominican (N.Y.)	3-0	36	9
6. Post	5-0	26	NR
7. DAEMEN	4-3	22	T5
8. Southern Connecticut	3-1	16	7
9. Saint Anselm	2-2	13	T2
10. Southern New Hampshire	2-1	12	T5

( ) denotes first-place votes

Others receiving votes: Bloomfield (6), Queens (6), Assumption (2)

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, Facebook and Instagram at @DaemenMBB.

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