Game #1 - Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
#4 Daemen Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 ECC) vs. #19 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (0-0, 0-0 SAC)
Saturday, Nov. 1 | 8 PM | Lakeland, Fla. | George W. Jenkins Field House
Links:
Gameday Info |
Live Stats |
Watch Live via SSC Digital Network
Game #2 - Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
#4 Daemen Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 ECC) vs. Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (0-0, 0-0 GNAC)
Sunday, Nov. 2 | 8 PM | Lakeland, Fla. | George W. Jenkins Field House
Links:
Live Stats |
Watch Live via SSC Digital Network
FUN IN THE SUN
The Daemen University men's basketball team officially tips off its 2025-26 season this weekend with two games at the
Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic being hosted by Florida Southern University. This event has evolved into one of the most prestigious on the early season calendar for Division II hoops fans, and features 10 competing teams - seven of which start the season nationally ranked - with 10 total games over two days. Daemen gets the nightcap both days, battling #19 Lenoir-Rhyne at 8 p.m. Saturday, followed by another 8 p.m. tip-off Sunday vs. Alaska Anchorage.
WHAT A RIDE
The Wildcats are coming off the most successful season in program history when they posted a 28-1 overall record, won the ECC regular season and tournament championships and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the fifth time. Daemen rattled off 28 straight victories to start the season, earning the distinction of being the last remaining unbeaten team across all three levels of NCAA basketball. Along the way, they ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll for the first time in program history. Their 85-64 win over Roberts Wesleyan on March 1 gave the Wildcats a perfect 16-0 mark in ECC play; they became just the fourth ECC team ever and the first since C.W. Post in 2008-09 to finish the regular season undefeated. The Wildcats went on to earn ECC tournament wins over fifth-seeded Staten Island and second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas, the latter giving Daemen its first-ever ECC tournament crown after five runner-up finishes. The Wildcats were awarded hosting rights for the NCAA Division II Championship East Regional, entering the tournament as the No.1 seed. They promptly knocked off eighth-seeded Bridgeport in the opening round, but their bubble burst in the regional semifinals against St. Thomas Aquinas - the teams' fourth meeting of the season.
RETURN OF THE MAC
Mike MacDonald returns for his 12th season on the Daemen bench - his 29th as a collegiate head coach. MacDonald was named the ECC, NABC District and BCANY Division II Coach of the Year last season after leading Daemen to a 28-1 record. He was also the recipient of the Clarence "Big House" Gaines Award given to the top coach in all of Division II basketball by collegeinsiders.com. MacDonald has led Daemen to a 232-84 record over his first 11 seasons, including eight 20-win seasons and five NCAA tournament berths. He enters the regular season just 11 wins shy of 500 for his career.
HIGH PRAISE
With 13 players returning from last season, including their top four scorers (all of whom earned All-ECC honors), Daemen opens the season at
No. 4 in the NABC preseason coaches' poll. The Wildcats were one of only two teams to garner first-place consideration, joining preseason No. 1 and defending national champion Nova Southeastern. The No. 4 ranking is Daemen's highest to start a season since transitioning to the NCAA Division II level more than a decade ago. Daemen has also been selected first in the
ECC preseason coaches' poll released in mid-October. It marks the third time in the last four seasons that Daemen has topped the preseason poll.
BIG MAN ON CAMPUS
Redshirt junior center
Benjamin Bill headlines the Daemen returners after earning ECC Player of the Year and consensus All-American honors last season. Bill averaged 16.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while setting a new program record for single-season field goal percentage (.708), numbers only emphasized by the fact he came off the bench in all but one game, and averaged just 22.7 minutes per game. Big things are expected again from the Hamburg, N.Y. native as he was a unanimous selection as the ECC Preseason Player of the Year.
THEY'RE BACK TO??!!
Fellow All-ECC selections
Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.),
Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) and
Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) also return to the fold. Hemphill, a redshirt senior forward who also earned All-Region accolades, averaged 11.9 points and was the first player in program history to lead the team in total rebounds (215), assists (116) and steals (43) in the same season. He already ranks sixth in program history for career rebounds with 641, and enters his final collegiate season just 55 points shy of 1,000. Glover and Philipkoski are back to man the backcourt, along with junior
Ryan Heath who appeared in all 29 games off the bench a season ago. Glover, a 5-foot-9 senior, shot 50% from the field and 42.7% from three-point range while producing 9.6 points per game. The 6-foot-4 Philipkoski, who was named the 2023 New York State Player of the Year in Class A, averaged 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game last season.
WHAT'S NEW
The Wildcats' roster also features several high-profile newcomers, including sophomore guard
Jaiden Harrison (Buffalo, N.Y.), the all-time leading scorer in Western New York high school basketball history. Harrison spent his first collegiate season at Division II Anderson University (S.C.), but headed back to Buffalo where he joins fellow Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School product
Nakyhi Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) and St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute graduate
Jaymeir Goosby (Buffalo, N.Y.) with the Wildcats.
DOWNTOWN TUNE UP
Daemen tuned up for the 2025-26 regular season by defeating Division III Nazareth 75-48 in exhibition action on Oct. 25. The game was played at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo - home to the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament First and Second Rounds - as part of a doubleheader with the Syracuse Orange and Buffalo Bulls in the nightcap. The Wildcats dominated the glass with a 48-23 rebounding advantage, and went 12-for-30 from three-point range in the win.
Benjamin Bill posted a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) and
Zach Philipkoski canned five three-pointers as part of his 16-point outing to lead the way. It marked Daemen's third excursion to KeyBank Center. The Wildcats earned a thrilling 83-81 win over Wilmington (Del.) on Nov. 23, 2019, and suffered a three-point setback (83-80) to Franklin Pierce on Dec. 18, 2021. Daemen head coach
Mike MacDonald sports a 19-12 lifetime record in the building, achieving the most wins of any basketball coach in the venue's history.
SMALL COLLEGE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME CLASSIC
This weekend's games mark Daemen's second invitation to the prestigious Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The Wildcats last participated in the event - then held in St. Joseph, Mo. - to open the 2019-20 season, earning a split of their two games there. Daemen faced off with preseason No. 1 and defending national champion Northwest Missouri State, falling 85-65 on Nov. 1, 2019, before scoring a 68-64 win over Missouri Western State the following night.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE
Daemen is competing in the state of Florida for the first time in more than a decade. The Wildcats' last played in the Sunshine State in December of 2014 when they earned a split of two games at the Trip Sports Cruzin' Classic in Miami Shores. The Wildcats downed NAIA foe St. Thomas (91-75), thanks in large part to Gerald Beverly's triple-double (17 points, 17 rebounds 12 blocks), but fell to #9 Indianapolis (78-51) the following day.
PRE-TOURNEY PRESSER
All 10 coaches will participate in a pre-tournament press conference at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31. The press conference, like all game action this weekend, is available free of charge on the
Sunshine State Conference Digital Network.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Lenoir-Rhyne is a member of the South Atlantic Conference and the Bears enter the season at No. 19 in the NABC preseason coaches' poll. LRU is also the preseason favorite to win the SAC after posting a 29-6 overall record and advancing to the Elite 8 a season ago. Junior center Conrad Luczynski, listed at 7-foot-2, headlines the LRU returners after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Division II Championship Southeast Regional last March. Luczynski averaged 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in 30 games last season. Senior guard Julian Dozier also returns after contributing 11.7 points per game and a team-high 172 assists last season.
SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's game marks the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Alaska Anchorage.
SCOUTING THE SEAWOLVES
Alaska Anchorage is a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the Seawolves are looking to rebound after going 12-19 last season. The Seawolves were picked sixth in the GNAC preseason coaches' poll. They return seven letterwinners and one veteran redshirt, including preseason All-GNAC selection Bishop Tosi, a 6-foot-6 senior forward who averaged 12.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season. Six transfers and two true freshmen round out the UAA roster. The Seawolves meet #15 Florida Southern in their season opener Saturday before closing out the tournament vs. Daemen.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game marks the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Lenoir-Rhyne.
WHAT'S NEXT
Daemen returns home to host their traditional season-opening tournament, the East Region Challenge on Nov. 14-15 at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats meet the Felician Falcons and St. Anselm Hawks that weekend.
