Bill, Heath Nab ECC Weekly Awards

11/17/2025 1:30:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen University student-athletes Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) and Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) each received recognition with the announcement of East Coast Conference men's basketball weekly awards for week one of the 2025-26 season today. Bill, the reigning ECC Player of the Year, was named the ECC Player of the Week while Heath picked up ECC Defensive Player of the Week honors. The awards period included not just games played this past weekend - the traditional opening weekend for the NCAA Division II basketball season - but also Daemen's games at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla. earlier this month.

Bill and Heath have both played integral roles in leading #4 Daemen to a 4-0 start this season. Both were named to the all-tournament team at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic where they led the Wildcats to wins over #19 Lenoir-Rhyne (75-69) and Alaska Anchorage (96-62). Bill was subsequently named to the all-tournament team at the Daemen-hosted East Region Challenge this past weekend where the Wildcats downed Felician (92-75) and Saint Anselm (80-63).

Bill, a 6-foot-10 redshirt junior center, has picked up right where he left off last season, averaging 17.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 67.5 percent from the field across the four Daemen victories. He contributed 19 points, seven boards, and four steals in the win over LRU on Nov. 1, and followed up with 17 points and 16 rebounds in the Wildcats' dominant defeat of Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 2. This past weekend, Bill registered his second double-double of the season (20 points, 10 rebounds) in the win over Felician on Nov. 14, and notched 13 points, five rebounds, and three blocks against Saint Anselm on Nov. 15.

This marks the eighth ECC weekly award of Bill's career, and his fifth Player of the Week selection.

Meanwhile, Heath picks up the first ECC weekly award of his career after leading Daemen's defensive efforts to start the season. Inserted into the starting lineup for the first time in his career, the 5-foot-11 junior guard averaged a team-high 2.3 steals to go with 1.0 blocks per game in their four season-opening victories. Against LRU, Heath played 30 minutes for the first time in his career and responded with career-highs in blocks (3) and steals (4). With Daemen leading 69-66 late in the game, Heath blocked a potential game-tying three-point attempt by LRU, preserving the Wildcats' victory.

Heath added three steals (to go with a career-high 16 points) in the win over Alaska Anchorage, and chipped in two more steals and a block against Felician.

Bill and Heath will lead #4 Daemen into their stiffest test of the young season as the Wildcats welcome #5 Fairmont State to Lumsden Gymnasium for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off on Tuesday night.

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 University men's basketball program on Twitter and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.

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