Men's Basketball Caps Regular Season At Roberts Wesleyan Saturday

3/1/2024 9:10:00 AM

JUMP BALL
Daemen closes out the 2023-24 regular season at long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan Saturday.

POLL POSITION
Daemen is tied for sixth in the second NCAA East Region poll released by the NCAA Tournament regional advisory committee. The Wildcats were also ranked fourth in the final D2 College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) East Region poll released Monday, Feb. 19.

THE SEASON SO FAR
Daemen has gone 9-1 since suffering a 92-82 loss at St. Thomas Aquinas back on Jan. 19. Daemen stands at 21-7 overall and is in third place in the ECC standings with a 11-4 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 (71.7). Senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) recently returned to the lineup after missing six games with a hand injury. He has averaged 18.4 points since returning from the injury and is averaging a team-high 16.6 points overall. Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, is averaging 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. A five-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection, he ranks third among the ECC leaders in blocks (49) and fourth in steals (44). Sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) is averaging 12.3 points and 3.4 assists with 48 three-pointers. Fifth-year senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) is averaging 11.1 points, while senior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) is contributing 11.0 points with a team-high 72 three-pointers. Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) is producing 10.4 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per contest.

WILDCATS OUTLAST UDC IN 2 OT; CRUISE PAST SAINTS
The Wildcats went 2-0 last week, outlasting District of Columbia in double OT (103-98) and cruising past D'Youville 91-72. Dylan Fasoyiro scored a key bucket in the second overtime and totaled 23 points to lead Daemen past UDC. It marked the second time this season the Wildcats have prevailed in a game that went two overtimes. Daemen came away with a 112-109 win in double OT back on Dec. 31 at Saint Anselm. Fasoyiro connected on 8-of-13 shots and made 3-of-5 from downtown. He also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and registered two blocks. Joey Atkins played 42 minutes and totaled 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks, while Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) made 7-of-13 shots and totaled 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals. Hemphill paced a balanced attack against D'Youville with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

HIGH FIVE
Daemen is riding a five-game winning streak, which ranks as the longest winning streak for the Wildcats this season. Daemen has averaged 96.6 points and has outscored its opponents by an average of 17 points over the five games.

RECORD SETTING PERFORMANCE
In the 123-75 win over Mercy, Daemen scored 100 or more during a regulation game for the first time since the 2021-22 season. The 123 points were the most scored by the Wildcats since the program gained NCAA Division II status in 2015. The last time the Wildcats scored as many points was a 123-122 double overtime win over Cincinnati Christian University on Dec. 19, 2009 during the Malone University Tournament.

THERE'S NO I IN TEAM
Daemen features a balanced attack with six players averaging between 11.0 and 16.6 points per game. Daemen has six players ranked among the Top-25 ECC scoring leaders. No other team has more than three players. The Wildcats have had 21 games where four players have scored in double figures and five players have reached double digits in points 11 times. A season-high six players scored in double figures during their win at Clarion on Nov. 26, their double OT win at Saint Anselm on Dec. 31 and their double OT win over UDC on Feb. 22.

SHARP SHOOTERS
Daemen ranks first among ECC teams in field goal percentage (.473) and has shot over 45-percent from the field in 16 of its 28 games. The Wildcats are 10-0 this year when they shoot 50-percent or better from the field.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has limited 13 of its 28 opponents to less than 70 points and leads the ECC in team defense, allowing just 71.7 points per game. The Wildcats also rank first in the ECC in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 41-percent from the field. Daemen has produced the ECC Defensive Player of the Week seven times this season. Joey Atkins has earned the honor five times, while Justin Hemphill is a two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Wildcats are 13-1 at home this season and have won 22 of their last 23 home games dating back to last season. They are 105-19 (.847) at home during Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present).

NOTABLE
Joey Atkins recorded his 100th career block during a loss to Dominican on Nov. 18. He has totaled 140 career blocks and has moved into the top five in career blocks among Daemen's all-time leaders. Dylan Fasoyiro scored his 700th career point during a recent win over STAC. After scoring just 23 points during his two seasons at Ashland, he has racked up 740 points in 50 games (14.8 ppg) at Daemen. Andrew Mason has become the seventh player in program history to reach 200 career three-pointers. He recorded his 200th during the win over Molloy on Dec. 8 and ranks fourth in career three-pointers at Daemen with 248. Mason scored his 1,000th career point during the win at UDC on Feb. 11. Nick MacDonald leads the ECC and ranks eighth nationally in free throw percentage (80-88/.909). He scored his 1,000th career point during the win over Queens on Jan. 28.

MACDONALD NOTCHES WIN NO. 450 OVERALL AND NO. 200 AS DAEMEN HEAD COACH
Head coach Mike MacDonald registered the 450th win of his career following the victory over Molloy on Jan. 26. Among active NCAA Division II coaches, he ranks first in the ECC, fifth in the East Region and 26th nationally in career wins with 457. MacDonald is in his 10th season on the Daemen bench and his 27^th overall as a collegiate head coach. Daemen has posted at least 20 wins in five of the last six seasons (Daemen only played 16 games during the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season) and MacDonald has led the Wildcats to a record of 200-81, three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and the 2021 NCAA Division II East Region title. He has won more games at Daemen than during previous stints as the head coach at Canisius (108 wins in nine seasons) and Medaille (149 wins in eight seasons). MacDonald is among an elite fraternity of coaches to have achieved 100 victories across all three NCAA divisions. His overall career record stands at 457-307 and Daemen's 81-72 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 8, 2021 was the 400th of his career.

FAMILIAR FACES
All-ECC selections Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.), Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) and Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) all returned in 2023-24. Atkins earned first-team All-ECC honors in his first season as a starter last year after averaging 11.9 points and 6.2 rebounds. He also ranked eighth among all Division II players in blocks (65). Fasoyiro averaged a team-high 13.4 points in his first season with the team, while MacDonald contributed 12.4 points. Mason averaged 10.9 points and led all three NCAA divisions in three-point field goal percentage (.516) last year. Veteran point guard Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.), who started all 28 games last year and averaged 32 minutes a game, was set to return but suffered a preseason injury. Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.), a 6-foot-6 forward, is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 9.0 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds off the bench. Sophomore guard Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) is set to step into the starting lineup following the loss of Salzberg. Glover played in 23 games (seven starts) as a freshman and averaged 4.9 points and 1.8 assists. Ayden Harrison (Clifton Park, N.Y.), Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) and Jackson Kulik (Webster, N.Y.) also join the mix after red shirting their freshman season last year.

NEWCOMERS
Three newcomers joined the fold in 2023-24. Redshirt sophomore guard Jarius Jones (Gahanna, Ohio) spent the past two years at Ohio Dominican University. Freshmen Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) and Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) both earned New York State Class A all-state honors last winter and Philipkoski was also honored as the New York State Class A Player of the Year. Philipkoski was named the ECC Rookie of the Week after scoring 34 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in a recent win at Mercy.

ANOTHER 20 WIN SEASON
Daemen has posted its sixth-straight 20-win season. The streak does not include the 2020-21 season, as Daemen only played 16 games during that COVID-10 shortened season.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS
The Daemen program has been built on sustained success, winning at least 19 games in 12 of the last 13 seasons. That span encompasses the end of Daemen's NAIA Era, its NCAA transition period and the first nine seasons of full NCAA Division II membership. The Wildcats have won 72% of their contests, going 249-98 in that span.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
Daemen earned three consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament berths from 2019 to 2021. The Wildcats won 24 games (NCAA era program record) and earned at-large bids to the NCAA tournament in 2019 and 2020. The Wildcats entered the 2021 tournament as the No. 2 seed in the East Region and picked up their first-ever NCAA tourney win with an 81-69 defeat of third-seeded Bloomfield in the opening round. The Wildcats then upset top-seeded Saint Thomas Aquinas in the regional championship game en route to the program's first regional championship and Elite Eight appearance. Daemen has posted 20 wins this last two seasons, but was denied an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament each year.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
Roberts Wesleyan (12-11, 9-6 ECC) has won four of its last five games and is coming off a 110-77 win at D'Youville Wednesday. The Redhawks went 10-16 overall and 7-9 in ECC play last year. Mark Saladzius is entering his sixth season as head coach. Roberts Wesleyan lost four of its top five scorers from last season and returns two starters and nine players overall. Senior guard Malik Brooks returns after averaging a team-high 12.6 points last year. He is averaging a team-high 17.5 points this season and is also contributing 6.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Junior guard Kevin Constant, who played the last two seasons at Le Moyne, is averaging 14.7 points with a team-high 38 steals. Junior forward Isaiah Elmore, another Le Moyne transfer, is a three-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week. He totaled 17 points and four blocks in the win over D'Youville and is averaging 9.6 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds. He has also totaled a league-high 55 blocks. Junior college transfer Marlon Pratt, Jr. has started 23 games and is averaging 9.4 points. Roberts Wesleyan was picked seventh in the ECC preseason coaches' poll.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's tilt will mark the 63rd meeting between the two long-time rivals. Daemen currently owns an eight-game winning streak against the Redhawks and the Wildcats have prevailed in 28 of the last 29 meetings. Daemen owns a 50-12 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to the 1997-98 season.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen has secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming ECC Championship tournament and begins post season play Wednesday (Mar. 6) when it hosts an opponent to be determined in the tournament quarterfinals.

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, Instagram and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.

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