The Daemen men's basketball bench erupts in a celebration following a basket

Geoff Schneider

Daemen Men Move To #2 National Ranking

12/16/2025 2:00:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen University is the No. 2 ranked team in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Poll released today. The Wildcats have now been ranked in 20 successive national polls, including 17 straight weeks in the top five, dating back to last season.

Daemen is off to a 12-0 start this season, and the Wildcats have won 43 consecutive regular season contests dating back to the 2023-24 season. The Wildcats already own a pair of wins against nationally-ranked teams. In their season opener on Nov. 1, the Wildcats outlasted then-No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne 75-69 at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla. Then, on Nov. 19, Daemen used a late surge to push past then-No. 5 Fairmont State 75-63 at the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium.

NABC Division II Men's Basketball National Poll for Dec 16 2025

NABC Division II Men's Basketball National Poll for Dec 16 2025

Most recently, Daemen earned a pair of East Coast Conference road wins, defeating Mercy (83-65 on Dec. 12) and St. Thomas Aquinas (79-60 on Dec. 14) to extend their conference winning streak to 26 straight games. Friday's win at Mercy marked the 500th in the career of Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald, and Sunday's win at STAC avenged the Wildcats' only loss from a season ago. The wins led to a plethora of honors for the Wildcats, including MacDonald's selection as the HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week, as well as Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) garnering ECC Player of the Week honors, and Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) earning his second straight ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection.

The Wildcats have been led this season by the triumvirate that is Philipkoski, Hemphill and Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.). Philipkoski is shooting 54 percent from the field and averaging a team-high 17.9 points to go with 6.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Hemphill leads the team in assists (5.4 apg) and steals (2.6 spg) while scoring 10.3 points per game. He scored his 1,000th career point in the win over Fairmont State and recently became the first player in program history to total more than 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists in a career.

Bill, the 2025 ECC Preseason Player of the Year and a consensus All-American last season, has posted six double-doubles and is producing 17.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. But, the junior center is expected to miss some time after going out with an injury in Friday's win at Mercy. Redshirt junior forward Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) has averaged 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in Bill's absence.

The Wildcats have also gotten solid contributions from the backcourt duo of Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.). Now in his third season as a full-time starter, Glover is contributing 10.0 points per outing while shooting 35.6 percent from three-point range. Heath is in the starting lineup for the first time in his career, and has responded by averaging 9.7 points, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

The No. 2 Wildcats put their unblemished record on the line in a rare Wednesday (Dec. 17) matinee when they welcome No. 21 Assumption - the defending East Region champs - to Lumsden Gymnasium for a 12 p.m. tip-off.

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, Facebook and Instagram at @DaemenMBB.

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