2024 East Region Challenge presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC
Game One - Daemen vs Chestnut Hill • Amherst, N.Y. • Charles L. & Gloria B. Lumsden Gymnasium • Nov. 8 • 7 p.m.
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Game Two – Daemen vs Saint Anselm • Amherst, N.Y. • Charles L. & Gloria B. Lumsden Gymnasium • Nov. 9 • 2 p.m.
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Live Stats |
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TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
| FRIDAY NOV. 8 |
SATURDAY NOV. 9 |
| ROBERTS WESLEYAN VS SAINT ANSELM - 5 P.M. |
CHESTNUT HILL VS ROBERTS WESLEYAN - 12 P.M. |
| DAEMEN VS CHESTNUT HILL - 7 P.M. |
DAEMEN VS SAINT ANSELM - 2 P.M. |
TOURNAMENT HISTORY |
FACILITY INFORMATION FOR VISITING TEAMS & SPECTATORS
ON THE COURT
The Daemen University men's basketball team begins their 2024-25 regular season at home by hosting the
2024 East Region Challenge presented by
Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC. The Wildcats will welcome fellow East Coast Conference rival Roberts Wesleyan, Chestnut Hill College of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and Saint Anselm of the Northeast-10 to Charles L. & Gloria B. Lumsden Gymnasium for the two-day event.
FROM A HAWK TO A WILDCAT
Graduate student guard
Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) joins the Wildcats after starting his collegiate career with Saint Anselm. He led the Hawks and ranked third in the Northeast-10 (NE-10) during the 2023-24 campaign for total rebounds with 234 while earning College Sports Communications Academic All-District honors during the 2022-23 season. Last season, Becker started all 31 games for Saint Anselm and tallied a season-high 21 points to pair with 10 rebounds for a double-double at Southern New Hampshire back on Jan. 21, 2024.
BUFFALO HUNTING
For the second time in program history, the Daemen University men's basketball team defeated a Division I program as they stunned the University at Buffalo, 67-61, in a men's basketball exhibition contest on Oct. 30. The victory over the Bulls is the first win for the Wildcats over a Division I program since they defeated Canisius University, 83-81, in overtime on Nov. 11, 2014. Daemen led for most of the contest, but the Bulls attempted one last comback and used a 12-6 spurt late in the second half to cut the Wildcats lead to just three, 61-58, with 1:18 to play. Still, Daemen weathered the storm and secured the upset win with four late free-throw makes with two tallies each from
Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) and sophomore guard
Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) at the line.
OLD AND NEW ON THE SIDELINE
Head coach
Mike MacDonald enters his 11th season at the helm of the Daemen University men's basketball program. MacDonald has guided the Wildcats to a 204-82 overall record, an East Coast Conference (ECC) regular season championship, four NCAA tournament berths and the 2021 NCAA Division II East Region championship. Daemen ranks second for total wins among New York State's Division II programs since MacDonald came to Main Street. Joining MacDonald on the sideline will be
Ryan Grandits who returns for his ninth season with the Wildcats and first as associate head coach. The Blue and White also announced the additions of UAlbany captain
Nick Fruscio, former NBA guard
Jaylen Morris who played for the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs and Houghton standout
Zach Fahey as assistant coaches ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
CHART TOPPER
For the second time in three seasons, Daemen was tabbed first in the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league office announced on Oct. 21. The Wildcats were tied with longtime ECC rival St. Thomas Aquinas College for first place in the poll with both teams garnering 72 points. The Spartans earned four first-place votes while the Wildcats received three. The College of Staten Island rounded out the top three with 64 points and the remaining two first place votes. Sitting atop the poll for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign, Daemen will look to make their fifth consecutive trip to the ECC Championship and qualify for the NCAA Division II Championship for the second year in a row and fifth instance since the 2018-19 season.
SCOUTING CHESTNUT HILL
The Griffins began the year with scrimmages against Lincoln University and Widener University and an exhibition versus Drexel University. Prior to the season, Chestnut Hill was tabbed third in CACC South Division with 49 points while also receiving three first place votes. Second year coach
Andrew Radomicki return eight players who saw action in 2023-24 including leading scorer
IV Pettit and leading rebounder
Neal Hill. Pettit was one of the top rookies in the CACC last season, averaging 15.4 points per game and leading the team with 56 three-point field goals made. Hill meanwhile was among the top rebounders in all of NCAA division II with a league-leading 10.3 rebounds per game while also adding a team high 85 assists from the small forward position.
SERIES HISTORY
The Blue and White won the lone meeting between the two sides, 88-50, on Nov. 10, 2023 last year during the 2023 East Region Challenge.
SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM
The Hawks nearly delivered an upset to begin the year, falling 68-66 against Division I Vermont on Oct. 26. Josh Morrisette led the Hawks with 27 points for Saint Anselm in the upset bid. Picked ninth in the preseason coaches' poll with 39 points, Saint Anselm hired Chris Santo as their new head coach this past April to lead the program. Santo returned to the Hawks, where he also played during his collegiate career, after three years as an assistant coach with Vermont.
SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 3-1 all-time against Saint Anselm with the series dating back to the 2018-19 campaign. Last year, the Wildcats outlasted the Hawks, 112-109, in double overtime on New Years Eve.
UP NEXT
The Blue and White are back in action on Nov. 16 when they welcome nationally ranked Charleston to Amherst, N.Y. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m.
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.
