Justin Hemphill dribbles the ball up the court against Felician

Geoff Schneider

Top-5 Showdown On Tap For Wildcats

#4 Daemen Hosts #5 Fairmont State In Big Early Season Matchup

11/17/2025 3:00:00 PM

TOP-5 SHOWDOWN
Daemen welcomes Fairmont State to Lumsden Gymnasium for a Tuesday night tussle featuring two the top-five ranked teams in all of NCAA Division II men's basketball. Both teams come in undefeated on the young season - Daemen with wins in all four of their contests, including a sweep of two games at the East Region Challenge this past weekend; Fairmont State opened their season with a pair of wins at their own tournament as well, the Joe Retton Classic. Both teams were NCAA tournament qualifiers last season. Daemen went 3-0 against ranked opponents last season.

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 236-84 record during his tenure, including eight 20-win seasons and five NCAA tournament berths. He enters Tuesday's game just seven 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 been picked to win the ECC.

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.

FUN IN THE SUN
Daemen opened the season with a pair of impressive wins in Lakeland, Fla. at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, a 10-team, classic-style tournament that has become the premier event to tip-off the NCAA Division II college basketball season. The Wildcats opened with a gritty, 75-69 win over #19 Lenoir-Rhyne on Nov. 1, getting 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks from All-American big man Benjamin Bill to lead the way. Justin Hemphill (14 points, seven assists), Zach Philipkoski (13 points) and Justin Glover (11 points) all reached double figures in a game that featured 28 lead changes. The following night, the Wildcats went bonkers from three-point range, shooting 15-for-26 from downtown, including a torrid 12-for-13 in the first half, en route to a 96-62 rout of Alaska Anchorage. Bill posted his first double-double (17 points, 16 rebounds) of the season, and Ryan Heath chipped in 16 points and three steals as both were named to the all-tournament team. It marked Daemen's second invitation to the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, having last participated in the event - then held in St. Joseph, Mo. - to open the 2019-20 season.

EAST REGION CHALLENGE WINS
For the 10th time in the last 12 seasons, Daemen hosted a four-team regional challenge event with Roberts Wesleyan (ECC), Saint Anselm (NE10) and Felician (CACC) visiting Lumsden Gymnasium. Daemen improved to 19-1 all-time in the tournament, running their East Region Challenge winning streak to 16 straight games after downing Felician (92-75) and Saint Anselm (80-63). Junior guard Zach Philipkoski was named the tournament MVP after averaging 21.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists over the two games. Philipkoski scored 13 of his game-high 23 points against Saint Anselm in the second half, including 10 straight during a game-deciding 17-3 run. He was joined on the all-tournament team by Benjamin Bill who scored 20 points and grabbed 10 boards during the Wildcats' 17-point win over Felician.

HOME SWEET HOME
Success on their home court has been a staple for Daemen through the years. In the program's NCAA Division II (2015-present), the Wildcats are an astounding 124-20 at home (.861 winning percentage). They've won at least 10 home games in eight of the last nine seasons; the only season they didn't was the COVID-19-shortened 2020-21 campaign. That includes last season when the Wildcats won a program-record 16 home games. They'll enter Tuesday's game having won 25 of their last 26 games at Lumsden Gymnasium.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Fairmont State returns six players from their 2024-25 team that went 27-5 overall and 17-3 in Mountain East Conference play en route to the MEC championship and NCAA tournament berth. Senior forward David Jolinder headlines the returners after leading the Falcons in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg) last season, but is the team's only returning starter. Fairmont State opened this season with a pair of wins last weekend, defeating Bloomsburg (98-56) and Edinboro (82-75) at their own tournament, the Joe Retton Classic. Four players are averaging in double figures thus far, led by graduate guard Miguel Martinez (15.5 ppg). The Falcons were ranked #5 in the NABC preseason coaches' poll and were picked first in the MEC preseason coaches' poll.

SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday's game marks just the third all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Falcons, and the first since 2001. Fairmont State owns a 2-0 record in the series with both prior meetings taking place at their gym.

WHAT'S NEXT
#4 Daemen plays its first true road game of the season Saturday (Nov. 22) when they visit Charleston (W. Va.) for a noon tip-off.

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