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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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MBB_Regional_Poll_010824
Geoff M Schneider

Men's Basketball Moves Up To No. 5 In D2CSC Regional Poll

Wildcats Have Won Four Straight And 11 Of Their Last 13

1/8/2024 4:04:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Tom McDermott, Director of Athletics Communications | tmcdermo@daemen.edu
AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University men's basketball team is ranked fifth in the seventh Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) East Region Men's Basketball Media Poll for 2023-24. The Wildcats moved up three spots after being ranked eighth in the last poll released on Dec. 18. Daemen opened the season ranked fifth in the first poll of the 2023-24 season and then spent three weeks at the No. 7 spot, one week and No. 9 and one week at No. 8.

Daemen has been ranked in 64 of the last 72 D2CSC (formerly D2SIDA) regional polls dating back to January 2018.

The Wildcats have won four-straight (and 11 of their last 13) games and stand at 12-4 overall and 2-1 in East Coast Conference play. Daemen is off to its best start since opening the 2019-20 season 13-3. Daemen has featured a balanced scoring attack and solid defense in its 16 games thus far. Five players are averaging in double figures and a sixth player is contributing 9.7 points. Senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) has scored over 20 points six times this season and is averaging 15.8 points with 28 three-pointers and 18 steals. 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. Fifth-year senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) has reached double figures in points the last nine games and is averaging 12.2 points. Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, is averaging 11.3 points and 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists. A four-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection, 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 12 times this year and is averaging 11.4 points with a team-high 42 three-pointers, while senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) is producing 9.7 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per contest.

Daemen collected 34 points in this week's regional poll. Saint Thomas Aquinas collected five of the six first-place votes and remained atop the poll for the fifth-straight week with 59 points. The remainder of the top five includes Saint Michael's (53), Post (50), Southern Connecticut (40) and Daemen. The remainder of the poll includes Pace (33), Bentley (18), Southerrn New Hampshire (15), Dominican (11) and Adelphi (8).

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 7
W-L PTS. LAST WEEK
1. Saint Thomas Aquinas (5) 11-2 59 1
2. Saint Michael's (1) 11-2 53 4
3. Post 10-2 50 2
4. Southern Connecticut 10-3 40 6
5. DAEMEN 12-4 34 8
6. Pace 9-4 33 7
7. Bentley 9-5 18 9
8. Southern New Hampshire 8-4 15 5
9. Dominican (N.Y.) 9-5 11 3
10. Adelphi 9-4 8 RV

( ) denotes first-place votes

Others receiving votes: Jefferson 5, Staten Island 4
 

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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