Geoff Schneider

Wildcats Host Saints In Regular Season Finale Saturday

Daemen Can Secure The No. 2 Seed In The ECC Tournament With A Win

2/24/2023 9:26:00 AM

GAME #26
D'Youville Saints (4-20, 3-12 ECC) vs. Daemen Wildcats (18-7, 11-4 ECC)
DATE: Saturday, Feb. 25
TIME: 6 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 plays host to crosstown rival D'Youville in the regular season finale for both teams. Daemen sits in second place in the East Coast Conference standings behind league-leading Saint Thomas Aquinas. Daemen can secure the No. 2 seed in the upcoming ECC Championship tournament with a win over D'Youville, or if Molloy loses to St. Thomas Aquinas Saturday. The top two seeds in the ECC Championship earn a first round bye. The tournament semifinals and championship game will be hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas March 4-5.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen Senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) paced a balanced scoring attack with 15 points to lead Daemen to an 82-51victory over Mercy this past Sunday at Lumsden Gymnasium. Daemen, which has won six straight and 15 of its last 17 games, improved to 18-7 overall and 11-4 in the ECC. MacDonald, who scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half, connected on 6-of-9 shots overall and canned 3-of-4 from downtown. Redshirt senior Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) went 5-of-7 from the field and totaled 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Junior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) went 3-of-4 from downtown and totaled nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Payton Shumpert (Syracuse, N.Y.) drilled three three-pointers and scored nine points.

SHARP SHOOTERS
Daemen ranks first among ECC teams in field goal percentage (.474) and has shot 50-percent or better from the field 12 times this season. The Wildcats are 11-1 this year when they shoot 50-percent or better from the field. Daemen shot a season-high 65-percent (32-49) in an 87-53 win over St. Thomas Aquinas last weekend and has shot 55-percent (188-342) from the field overall and 48.5-percent (63-130) from three point land during its current six game winning streak.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen leads the ECC in both team defense (64.9 papg) and field goal percentage defense (.401). The Wildcats have held 16 of their 25 opponents to less than 70 points and are 14-2 overall this season when they hold their opponent under 70 points.

150TH NCAA DIVISION II WIN
The win over District of Columbia on Jan. 21 was Daemen's 150th win as a NCAA Division II member. Since Daemen gained full NCAA status prior to the 2015-16 season, the Wildcats have posted a 156-63 record for a .712 winning percentage.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Wildcats have won their last eight home games and are 11-3 this season at Lumsden. Daemen is 91-18 (.835) 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 177-73 (.708) record since taking the reins in 2014. He coached his 250th game at Daemen last Sunday vs. Mercy. 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.

MR. CONSISTENT
Senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) has scored in double figures in 22 of the 25 games. He scored a career-high 20 points in a loss to Slippery Rock and is averaging a team-high 12.7 points. He also ranks second on the team in three-pointers made (42) and second among the ECC leaders in free throw percentage (63-73/.863). He is shooting 88.8-percent (127-143) from the charity stripe over his collegiate career.

MINUTE MAN
Senior Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) has played at least 30 minutes in 11 of the last 13 games and 19 of the 25 games this season. He scored a season-high 14 points in the loss to Molloy on Dec. 2 and is averaging 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. He is averaging 31.4 minutes and a team-high 3.6 assists per game. He recorded his 200th career assist during the win over Queens on Jan. 29 and leads the ECC in assist/turnover ratio (2.5).

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 totaled 313 points and 151 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 ranks second on the team in both scoring (12.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg). He ranks third in blocks (57) and sixth in steals (41) among the ECC leaders and has become the fifth player in program history to record 50 or more blocks in a season. 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 the win over Roberts Wesleyan on Jan. 11. It marked the second time this 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 is averaging a team-high 31.6 minutes and 10.8 points per game. He ranks second among the ECC leaders in three-pointers made (72) and second among all NCAA Division II players in three-point field goal percentage (72-142/.507). He was named the ECC Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Jan. 17.

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 18 games and the Wildcats are 15-3 with him in the starting lineup. He has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 12 games and is averaging 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He also ranks second in on the team in steals (34). He scored a career-high 31 points in the win over Staten Island on Jan. 6 and netted 23 points in the win over UDC on Jan. 21.

SOLID SIXTH MAN
Junior forward Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) has proven to be a solid sixth man. Sidelined by injury most of his first two seasons, he has played in 24 of 25 games this season and is averaging 18.4 minutes off the bench. He connected on 9-of-9 shots and scored a career-high 21 points in just 21 minutes in the win over St. Thomas Aquinas last weekend. He has posted three double-doubles on the year and contributed 16 points and established a new career-high for rebounds (14), assists (6) and blocks (4) in a win over Roberts Wesleyan on Jan. 11. He leads the team in offensive rebounds (61) and total rebounds per game (6.6) and ranks first among all ECC players in field goal percentage (81-135/.600). He was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season this past 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 5.2 points per game. He missed five games due to injury, but returned to action during the recent win at 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 (Preston) played collegiately at Syracuse University from 1998 to 2002.

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 second of three NCAA East Region poll released this past Wednesday.

SCOUTING D'YOUVILLE
D'Youville returns nine players from last year's team that went 2-26 overall and 1-17 in the ECC. D'Youville is currently in year three of transitioning from NCAA Division III to Division II. Andy Stark is in his first season as head coach. The Saints snapped a 12 game losing streak following a 74-68 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Feb. 11, and are coming off losses to Mercy (81-79) and St. Thomas Aquinas (93-71) last weekend. Newcomer Will Kondrat, who played two seasons at Niagara County CC, has paced the Saints thus far. The 6-foot-7 swingman was named the ECC Player of the Week after he totaled 31 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Roberts Wesleyan. He ranks second among the ECC scoring leaders (18.2 ppg) and also leads the team in rebounding (7.1 rpg), steals (48) and blocks (18). Sophomore guard Luke Theisen is averaging 11.8 points with a team-high 30 three-pointers. Additional production has come from freshman guard Renard Fontes Jules (9.6 ppg, 3.2 apg) and sophomore guard Nelson St. Louis (6.3 ppg). D'Youville was picked ninth in the ECC preseason coaches' poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. D'YOUVILLE
Series Record: Daemen, 10-0
At Daemen: Daemen, 6-0
At D'Youville, Daemen, 4-0
Last Year: Daemen 92, D'Youville 76 | Jan. 8, 2022 | at Buffalo, N.Y. / Daemen 97, D'Youville 52 | Feb. 9, 2022 | Amherst, N.Y.
This Year: Daemen, 56, D'Youville 53 | Jan. 17, 2023 | at Buffalo, N.Y.

ON THE HORIZON
Pairings for the upcoming ECC Championship tournament will be announced this week. First round games will take place March 1 and the semifinals and championship game will be hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas March 4-5.

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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