Men's Basketball | 11/25/2024 4:57:00 PM
GAME FIVE - #20/#13 Daemen vs #4/#6 California (Pa.) • Amherst, N.Y. • Charles L. & Gloria B. Lumsden Gymnasium • 5 p.m.
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The #20/#13 Daemen University men's basketball team returns to Lumsden Gymnasium for their toughest test so far on the young season when they face #4/#6 California (Pa.). Tip-off against the Vulcans is set for 5 p.m. It also marks the first meeting between the two sides in program history.
DRIVE FOR FIVE
The Wildcats four wins to open the 2023-24 campaign are the most since they started the regular season 5-0 during the 2016-17 campaign. During the '16-17 run, the Wildcats averaged 73.6 points per game and like this season, went 2-0 during the East Region Challenge. Through four games this year, Daemen has averaged 77.3 ppg compared to 56.5 for opponents.
PUSHIN PSAC
Last season, Daemen went a perfect 3-0 against teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Blue and White defeated then Division II #25 Mercyhurst on the road, 64-63, Slipper Rock at home, 86-62, and Clarion in the Quaker State, 97-76. In all three games, the Blue and White were leading at the end of the first half and put up a minimum of 35 points, highlighted by a 52 points opening stanza against Clarion. This season, Daemen will once again face a trio of PSAC schools with California (Pa.), Gannon and a rematch with Clarion once again taking place in Clarion, Pa.
DEADEYE
Against Post (Nov. 23), graduate student guard Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) was a perfect three-of-three from beyond the arc agains the Hawks. The longtime Wildcat finished the afternoon with 11 points, the first time during the 2024-25 campaign he finished in double figures.
BEN BILL(IONAIRE)
Redshirt sophomore Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) has begun the 2024-25 campaign on fire as he is the only member of the Wildcats to finish with 10-or-more points each game. The Hamburg native dropped a career-high 18 points in Daemen's season-opening win against Chestnut Hill (Nov. 8). He followed that with 10 points versus Saint Anselm (Nov. 9) and 12 against Charleston (Nov. 16). In his last game against Post (Nov. 23), the center tallied 16 points on an extremely efficient seven-of-eight (.875) shooting from the floor.
'CATS IN THE POLLS
For the second consecutive week, Daemen was tabbed first in the D2CSC East Region Poll. The 'Cats received all six first place votes and amassed 60 points as well. Breathing down the Wildcats neck is Northeast-10 foe Pace who remains undefeated at 6-0 and garnered 50 points. Longtime ECC rival St. Thomas Aquinas moved to third place after sitting in second last week. The Spartans notched 49 points. Nationally, the Wildcats were ranked 20th in the NABC poll and 13th in the D2CSC national poll. New national polls are expected to be released prior to the Wildcats meeting with the Vulcans.
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA (PA.) (6-1, 1-1 PSAC)
Tabbed as preseason favorites in the PSAC West poll, the Vulcans were stunned in their last match, suffering a 66-61 loss to Shepherd this past Saturday. The Cal offense is left by the tri of Donald Whitehead, Jr. (19.3 ppg), Keith Palek III (18.8 ppg) and Cam Polak (16.0 ppg) while as a whole, the team as averaged 90.0 points per game. On the sideline, head coach Danny Sancomb is back for his seventh season and recently passed the 100 win milestone with the Vulcans as well
SERIES HISTORY
Tuesdays bout will mark the first meeting between the two sides in program history.
UP NEXT
The Blue and White will continue their PSAC swing with a 1 p.m. road tilt against Clarion on Dec. 1
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 University men's basketball program on Twitter and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.
