Men's Basketball Comes In At No. 8 In D2CSC Regional Poll

2/12/2024 4:05:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Tom McDermott, Director of Athletics Communications | tmcdermo@daemen.edu

AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University men's basketball team is ranked No. 8 in the 12th Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) East Region Men's Basketball Media Poll for 2023-24. The Wildcats dropped two spots from No. 5 after going 1-1 last week. Daemen suffered a loss at the College of Staten Island on Friday night and rebounded with a win at the University of the District of Columbia Sunday. Daemen has been ranked in every regional poll this season, climbing as hig as No. 5 twice.

Daemen has been ranked in 69 of the last 77 D2CSC (formerly D2SIDA) regional polls dating back to January 2018.

Daemen stands at 17-7 overall and is in third place in the ECC standings with a 7-4 league mark. Daemen has featured a balanced scoring attack and solid defense thus far. Six players are averaging in double figures and the Wildcats lead the ECC in fewest points allowed per game (70.0). Senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) recently returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a hand injury. He totaled 24 points in the loss to Staten Island against D'Youville and is averaging 15.9 points with 34 three-pointers. Sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) is averaging 12.4 points and 3.4 assists with 39 three-pointers. Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, is averaging 12.3 points and 7.7 rebounds. A five-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection, he ranks second among the ECC leaders in blocks (40) and fifth in steals (37). Fifth-year senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) is averaging 10.7 points, while senior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) is contributing 11.5 points with a team-high 65 three-pointers. Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) is producing 10.7 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds per contest.

Daemen collected 26 points in this week's regional poll. St. Thomas Aquinas (60 pts) collected all six first-place votes and remained atop the poll for the fourth-straight week. The remainder of the top five includes Saint Michael's (54), Bentley (48), Post (34) and Southern Connecticut (32). The bottom half of the poll includes Southern New Hampshire (28), Adelphi (27), Daemen, Dominican (10) and Jefferson (5).

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 12*
	W-L	PTS.	LAST WEEK
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (6)	19-3	60	1
2. Saint Michael's	18-5	54	2
3. Bentley	16-8	48	3
4. Post	15-6	34	4
5. Southern Connecticut	16-7	32	8
6. Southern New Hampshire	14-8	28	7
7. Adelphi	15-8	27	6
8. DAEMEN	17-7	26	5
9. Dominican (N.Y.)	15-8	10	9
10. Jefferson	14-8	5	RV

( ) denotes first-place votes

Others receiving votes: Pace (4), Statem Island (2)

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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