Geoff Schneider

Men's Basketball Resumes Conference Play At Home This Weekend

Sunday's Game Against District of Columbia Moved To 11 a.m.

1/10/2024 2:09:00 PM

JUMP BALL
Daemen resumes East Coast Conference play this weekend when the Wildcats play host to the College of Staten Island (Jan. 12) and the University of the District of Columbia (Jan. 14). Sunday's game time against District of Columbia has been moved to 11 a.m.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE
Tickets for all 2023-24 Daemen home games are on sale through Daemen's online ticketing portal. Lock in your tickets before arriving at Lumsden Gym. Please note, all tickets must be purchased online. No cash sales will be available at Lumsden Gym.

THE SEASON AHEAD
The Wildcats return several key players and a total of 14 players from their 2022-23 team which went 20-8 overall and 12-4 in the East Coast Conference. The Wildcats advanced to the ECC Tournament championship game, where they suffered a 72-66 loss to top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas College. Daemen was picked second in the ECC preseason coaches' poll and was also receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II preseason poll.

POLL POSITION
Daemen is ranked fifth in the D2 College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) East Region poll released Monday, Jan. 8.

THE SEASON SO FAR
Daemen (12-4, 2-1 ECC) has featured a balanced scoring attack and solid defense thus far. Five players are averaging in double figures and the Wildcats lead the ECC in fewest points allowed per game (70.7). Six different players have led the team in scoring so far this season. Senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) has led the team in points seven times and has scored over 20 points six times this season. He dropped 30 points in an 86-68 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 2 and is averaging a team-high 15.8 points and ranks second on the team in three-pointers (28). Sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) has scored in double figures in 12 of 15 games and is averaging 13.1 points and 3.3 assists. Senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) has scored in double figures in the last nine games and is averaging 12.2 points. He was named the ECC Player of the Week on Monday after netting a career-high 22 points a the win over nationally-ranked Post on Jan. 3. Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, is averaging 11.3 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds. A four-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection this year, he leads the ECC in blocks (27) and ranks second in steals (26). Senior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) has reached double figures in points in 11 of the last 13 games and is averaging 11.4 points with a team-high 42 three-pointers. He set a Daemen NCAA-era (2015-present) record for three-pointers in a game (8) and scored a career-high 26 points in a 93-73 win over Franklin Pierce on Dec. 19. Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) established career-highs for points (27) and rebounds (16) in the double OT win at Saint Anselm and is producing 9.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest.

WILDCATS HAVE WON FOUR-STRAIGHT AND 11 OF THEIR LAST 13
Daemen is riding high, having won four-straight and 11 of their last 13 games. The Wildcats outlasted Saint Anselm, 112-109, in double overtime on New Year's Eve and defeated nationally-ranked Post, 71-55, on Jan. 3. The Saint Anselm win marked the first time since the 2017-18 season that Daemen has played in a game that went to double overtime. Sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) hit a clutch three-pointer at the end of regulation to force the extra time and senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to lead a balanced Daemen attack. Fifth-year senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) scored 14 of his career-high 22 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats against Post. Daemen capped last week with a 90-50 win over Cheyney.

THERE'S NO I IN TEAM
Daemen features a balanced attack with six players averaging between 9.7 and 15.8 points per game. The Wildcats have had 11 games where four players have scored in double figures and five players have reached double digits in points six times. A season-high six players scored in double figures during their win at Clarion on Nov. 26 and their double OT win at Saint Anselm on Dec. 31.

SHARP SHOOTERS
Daemen ranks first among ECC teams in field goal percentage (.474) and has shot over 45-percent from the field in 10 of its 16 games. The Wildcats are 6-0 this year when they shoot 50-percent or better from the field.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has limited nine of its 16 opponents to less than 70 points and leads the ECC in team defense, allowing just 70.7 points per game. The Wildcats also rank first in the ECC in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 41-percent from the field. Daemen has produced the ECC Defensive Player of the Week six times this season. Joey Atkins earned the honor for the fourth time on Monday. Justin Hemphill is a two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week honoree.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Wildcats are 7-0 at home this season and have won their last 16 home games dating back to last season. They are 99-18 (.846) at home during Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present). Daemen's 16-game home winning streak is the longest in the East Region and the fifth longest among all Division II schools. Daemen has shot 51-percent from the field overall and 42-percent (61-146) from downtown during its seven home games this season. The Wildcats have won by at least 16 points in six of their seven homes games and have averaged 84.1 points at home.

NOTABLE
Joey Atkins recorded his 100th career block during a loss to Dominican on Nov. 18. He has totaled 118 career blocks and has moved into the top five in career blocks among Daemen's all-time leaders. Dylan Fasoyiro scored his 600th career point during a loss at Queens. After scoring just 23 points during his two seasons at Ashland, he has racked up 611 points in 43 games (14.2 ppg) at Daemen. Andrew Mason has become the seventh player in program history to reach 200 career three-pointers. He recorded his 200th during the win over Molloy and ranks fifth in career three-pointers at Daemen with 218. Nick MacDonald recorded his 150th career three-pointer during the win over Saint Anselm. MacDonald leads the ECC and ranks 15th nationally in free throw percentage (.911). He stands just 45 points shy of 1,000 for his career. Senior Justin Hemphill has averaged 14.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.8 blocks and 2.0 steals during the six games (Slippery Rock, Clarion, Franklin Pierce, Saint Anselm, Post, Cheyney) he has been in the starting lineup.

MACDONALD TWO SHY OF 450 CAREER WINS
Head coach Mike MacDonald enters the weekend just two wins shy of 450 for his career. Among active NCAA Division II coaches, he ranks first in the ECC, fifth in the East Region and 26th nationally in career wins with 448. MacDonald is in his 10th season on the Daemen bench and his 27^th overall as a collegiate head coach. Daemen has posted at least 20 wins in five of the last six seasons (Daemen only played 16 games during the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season) and MacDonald has led the Wildcats to a record of 191-78, three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and the 2021 NCAA Division II East Region title. 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. His overall career record stands at 448-304 and Daemen's 81-72 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 8, 2021 was the 400th of his career.

FAMILIAR FACES
All-ECC selections Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.), Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) and Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) all return in 2023-24. Atkins earned first-team All-ECC honors in his first season as a starter last year after averaging 11.9 points and 6.2 rebounds. He also ranked eighth among all Division II players in blocks (65). Fasoyiro averaged a team-high 13.4 points in his first season with the team, while MacDonald contributed 12.4 points. Mason averaged 10.9 points and led all three NCAA divisions in three-point field goal percentage (.516) last year. Veteran point guard Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.), who started all 28 games last year and averaged 32 minutes a game, was set to return but suffered a preseason injury. Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.), a 6-foot-6 forward, is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 9.0 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds off the bench. Sophomore guard Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) is set to step into the starting lineup following the loss of Salzberg. Glover played in 23 games (seven starts) as a freshman and averaged 4.9 points and 1.8 assists. Ayden Harrison (Clifton Park, N.Y.), Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) and Jackson Kulik (Webster, N.Y.) also join the mix after red shirting their freshman season last year.

NEWCOMERS
Three newcomers join the fold in 2023-24. Redshirt sophomore guard Jarius Jones (Gahanna, Ohio) spent the past two years at Ohio Dominican University. Freshmen Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) and Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) both earned New York State Class A all-state honors last winter and Philipkoski was also honored as the New York State Class A Player of the Year.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS
The Daemen program has been built on sustained success, winning at least 19 games in 11 of the last 12 seasons. That span encompasses the end of Daemen's NAIA Era, its NCAA transition period and the first eight seasons of full NCAA Division II membership. The Wildcats have won 72% of their contests, going 247-98 in that span. Looking more recently, Daemen is 120-45 since the start of the 2017-18 season (.730 winning percentage).

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 has posted 20 wins this last two seasons, but was denied an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament each year.

SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
Staten Island (9-6, 3-1 ECC) opened ECC play with three-straight wins over Molloy (89-86), Queens (78-62) and Mercy (81-61), before suffering a 79-77 loss to nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas. CSI was ranked 10th regionally back on Dec. 18 and is receiving votes in this week's D2CSC regional poll. The Dolphins went 9-19 overall and 7-9 in ECC play last year and made their first-ever ECC Tournament appearance. T.J. Tibbs is entering his sixth season as head coach at Staten Island. Staten Island returns four starters and five of its top six scorers from last year. Junior forward Messiah Mallory, the 2021-22 ECC Rookie of the Year, returns after leading the team in scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg) last year. Long range threats Bryce Waterman and Luis Armas also return. Waterman drilled 68 three-pointers and averaged 12.4 points last year, while Armas made 65 triples and averaged 10.8 points. JJ Chestnut, a four-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection last year, also returns. Waterman has scored in double figures the last nine games this season and is averaging a team-high 15.5 points. He also leads the ECC and ranks third nationally in three-pointers made (54). Mallory scored 30 points in a recent 101-93 win over nationally-ranked Saint Michael's and is averaging 14.3 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds. Chestnut is averaging 10.3 points and 3.0 assists. Freshman Aaron Goldstein is a three-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection and is averaging 9.4 points and a team-high 3.5 assists. CSI was tied for third in the ECC preseason coaches' poll.

SERIES HISTORY
Friday's game will mark the fifth all-time meeting between Daemen and Staten Island. Daemen has prevailed in each of the previous four meetings, including a 93-62 decision at Lumsden last year.

SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS
District of Columbia (4-9, 2-2 ECC) has split its first four ECC games, defeating Molloy (73-72) and Mercy (78-60) and losing to Queens (62-56) and St. Thomas Aquinas (98-88). The Firebirds went 13-14 overall and 10-6 in ECC play last year. They advanced to the semifinals of the ECC Tournament, where they suffered a loss to top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas. Mike Riley is in his 10th season as head coach. UDC lost its top two scorers from last season and returns just seven players. Sophomore guard Eric Morgan, Jr. started 23 games as a freshman and is averaging a team-high 12.0 points this season. Senior Hartnel Haye averaged 10.7 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds last year. He is shooting 50-percent from the field this year and is averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds. Junior college transfer Vernon Simmons has produced off the bench. He scored 13 points in the win over Molloy and is averaging 9.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. Junior point guard Tevin Curtis is contributing 9.5 points and 4.4 assists per game, while senior forward Micah Campbell leads the team in blocks (22) and is averaging 7.1 points and 6.3 rebounds. UDC was tied for third in the ECC preseason coaches' poll.

SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's game will mark the 20th all-time meeting between Daemen and UDC. Daemen has prevailed in the last 12 meetings and the Wildcats own a 17-2 advantage in the all-time series. Daemen posted a 79-67 win over the Firebirds last year at Lumsden Gym.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen is idle until next weekend when they travel to St. Thomas Aquinas College (Jan. 19) and Mercy College (Jan. 21) 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.

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