Back To The Dance: Men's Basketball Opens NCAA Tournament Saturday Against Jefferson

Wildcats Making Fourth Tournament Appearance Overall; First Since 2021

3/14/2024 2:51:00 PM

JUMP BALL
Fourth-seeded Daemen takes on fifth-seeded Jefferson University in opening round of the 2024 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship. The East Region of the championship game will be hosted by Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vt.

POLL POSITION
The Wildcats were ranked fourth and the Rams were ranked ninth in the final D2 College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) East Region poll released Monday, Feb. 19.

DAEMEN IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Daemen is making its fourth overall appearance in the NCAA Division II Championship and its first since the 2021 season. 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 posted 20 wins in 2021-22 and 2022-23, but was denied an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament each year.

THE SEASON SO FAR
Daemen (24-8) has featured a balanced scoring attack and solid defense thus far. Six players are averaging in double figures and the Wildcats lead the East Coast Conference in fewest points allowed per game (71.4). Senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) has averaged 20.6 points over the last eight games and is averaging a team-high 17.4 points overall. Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), the 2023-24 ECC Preseason Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 12.3 points and 7.4 rebounds. A five-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection, he ranks third among the ECC leaders in both blocks (52) and steals (50). Sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) is averaging 11.9 points and 3.4 assists with 50 three-pointers. Fifth-year senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) is averaging 10.7 points, while senior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) is also contributing 10.7 points with a team-high 79 three-pointers. Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) is producing 10.5 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per contest withn42 steals.

FOUR FROM DAEMEN EARN ALL-ECC
Four members of the Daemen University men's basketball team were voted to the 2023-24 All-ECC team. Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.), senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) and sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) were all named to the 16-player All-ECC team. Atkins, who was also voted the ECC Defensive Player of the Year, was a first team selection for the second-straight year. Fasoyiro earned first team honors this year after picking up second team honors last winter. Hemphill and Glover both earned all-conference honors for the first time and were both voted to the third team. Daemen led the way with four selections, while St. Thomas Aquinas College placed three players on the team. It marks the fifth time in the past seven years that Daemen has placed four players on the all-conference team.

RECORD SETTING PERFORMANCE
In a 123-75 win over Mercy on Feb. 18, Daemen scored 100 or more points 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 10.5 and 17.4 points per game. Eight different players have led the team in scoring this season, led by Dylan Fasoyiro who has paced the team in points 14 times. Daemen has six players ranked among the Top-25 ECC scoring leaders. No other team has more than three players. The Wildcats have had 22 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 overall field goal percentage (.464) and three-point field goal percentage (.384) and has shot over 45-percent from the field in 16 of its 32 games. The Wildcats are 10-0 this year when they shoot 50-percent or better from the field.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen has limited 15 of its 32 opponents to less than 70 points and leads the ECC in team defense, allowing just 71.4 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.

NOTABLE
Joey Atkins spent his freshman season at Jefferson. He played in 15 games at Jefferson as a freshman and has played in 87 games at Daemen. Atkins played in his 100th career game during Daemen's ECC Tournament quarterfinal win over Queens and recorded his 100th career block during a loss to Dominican on Nov. 18. He has totaled 143 career blocks and has moved into the top five in career blocks among Daemen's all-time leaders. Dylan Fasoyiro went over 400 points for the season during the ECC Tournament win over Queens. After scoring just 23 points during his two seasons at Ashland, he has racked up 826 points in 54 games (15.3 ppg) at Daemen. Andrew Mason has become the fourth player in program history to reach 250 career three-pointers. He recorded his 250th triple during the regular season finale at Roberts Wesleyan and ranks fourth in career three-pointers at Daemen with 255. He has shot 46-percent (255-553) from three-point land over his career and ranks second in the ECC in three-pointers made (79) and three-point field goal percentage (.416) this season. Mason played in his 100th career game during the ECC Tournament semifinal win over Staten Island and scored his 1,000th career point during a win at UDC on Feb. 11. Nick MacDonald leads the East Region and ranks fifth nationally in free throw percentage (87-96/.906). He scored his 1,000th career point during the win over Queens on Jan. 28 and played in his 140th career game last Saturday during the semifinals of the ECC Tournament. Justin Hemphill ranks first among the ECC leaders in offensive rebounds (94) and sixth in total rebounds per game (7.7). Justin Glover ranks seventh among the ECC leaders in assists per game (3.4) and second in assist/turnover ratio (2.5).

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 460. MacDonald reached another milestone on Feb. 25 when he recorded his 200th win as head coach at Daemen. 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 203-82, 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 460-308.

FAMILIAR FACES
2022-23 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.) stepped into the starting lineup this season 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.

ONE SHY OF A NEW STANDARD
Daemen is one win shy of establishing a new program record for most wins in a season (25) during its NCAA Division II era (2015-present). The Wildcats also posted 24 wins in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

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 252-99 in that span.

SCOUTING THE RAMS
Jefferson (23-8) brings an 11-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament, which ranks as the longest in the East Region and the fourth longest among all Division II programs. The school was formerly know as Philadelphia Textile and Philadelphia University and has a rich NCAA tradition. The Rams are making their 38th all-time appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament and their first since 2020. Like Daemen, the Rams feature a balanced offense with all five starters averaging in double figures. The Rams earned the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) automatic bid after defeating Felician (76-66), Post (70-58) and Bloomfield (89-69) to claim the CACC Tournament title. The Rams went 18-12 overall (12-5 CACC) last year and advanced to the championship game of the CACC Tournament. Jimmy Reilly, a former assistant coach at Jefferson, is in his second season as head coach. Jefferson returns the top five scorers and nine total players from last year's team. The Rams have shot over 50-percent from the field 19 times this season and they rank second nationally in overall field goal percentage (.514). Junior guard Erik Timko was just named the CACC Player of the Year for the second-straight season. He has scored in double figures in 30 of 31 games and is averaging 20.0 points. He has drilled 89 three-pointers and ranks 20th nationally in three-point percentage (.436). Senior center Antonion Kemkeng is a second-team All-CACC selection. A 6-foot-9 native of France, he is shooting 62-percent from the field and contributing 14.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Additional production has come from third-team All-CACC guard Ahmed Barba-Bey (13.8 ppg, 4.2 apg), junior guard Hakim Byrd (12.4 ppg, 74 3pt FGs) and junior forward Bismark Nsiah (11.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 46 blks). Jefferson was ranked first in the CACC South Division preseason coaches' poll.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will mark the first ever meeting between Daemen and Jefferson.

ON THE HORIZON
Saturday's winner will take on either top-seeded Saint Michael's College or eighth-seeded Southern Connecticut State University in the regional semifinals Sunday at 7:30 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 men's basketball program on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.

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