Geoff Schneider

Men's Basketball Ascends To No. 4 In Final D2CSC Regional Poll

2/19/2024 3:26:00 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. 4 in the 13th and final Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) East Region Men's Basketball Media Poll for 2023-24. The Wildcats climbed four spots from No. 8 after going 2-0 last weekend. Daemen opened the weekend with an 87-82 win over St. Thomas ASquinas College, which has sat atop the poll for most of the season. The Wildcats then cruised to a 123-75 win over Mercy University yesterday. The No. 4 ranking is the the highest of the year for Daemen, which has been ranked in every regional poll this season.

Daemen has been ranked in 70 of the last 78 D2CSC (formerly D2SIDA) regional polls dating back to January 2018.

Daemen stands at 19-7 overall and is in third place in the ECC standings with a 9-4 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 (70.7). Senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) recently returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a hand injury. He totaled 23 points in the win over St. Thomas Aquinasn and is averaging 16.4 points with 42 three-pointers. Sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) is averaging 12.4 points and 3.5 assists with 44 three-pointers. Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, is averaging 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds. A five-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection, he ranks second among the ECC leaders in blocks (43) and fourth in steals (41). Fifth-year senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) is averaging 10.8 points, while senior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) is contributing 11.4 points with a team-high 70 three-pointers. Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) is producing 10.7 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per contest.

Daemen collected 36 points in this week's regional poll. St. Thomas Aquinas (56 pts) collected three first place votes and edge out Saint Michael's (55) for the No. 1 ranking. SMC got two first-place votes, while Bentley (51) collected the final first-place votes and is ranked third. The remainder of the top five includes Daemen and Southern Connecticut (34). The bottom half of the poll includes Post (28), Adelphi (22), Dominican (18), Jefferson (14).Southern New Hampshire (6).

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 13*
	W-L	PTS.	LAST WEEK
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (3)	20-5	56	1
2. Saint Michael's (2)	19-6	55	2
3. Bentley (1)	18-8	51	3
4. DAEMEN	19-7	36	8
5. Southern Connecticut	17-8	34	5
6. Post	16-7	28	4
7. Adelphi	16-9	22	7
8. Dominican (N.Y.)	16-9	18	9
9. Jefferson	16-9	14	10
10. Southern New Hampshire	14-10	9	6

( ) denotes first-place votes

Others receiving votes: Pace (4), Bloomfield (2), Statem Island (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 men's basketball program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @DaemenMBB.

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