Matt Becker shoots a shot against Chestnut Hill

No. 2/3 Men's Basketball Prepares for Heavyweight Bout against St. Thomas Aquinas and Mercy

Wildcats Head Downstate to Battle Spartans and Mavericks

2/6/2025 11:00:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Max Sacco, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | msacco@daemen.edu

HEADING DOWNSTATE
The No. 2/3 Daemen University men's basketball team heads south for a pair of crucial East Coast Conference games against St. Thomas Aquinas and Mercy. Tip-off against the Spartans is set for 7 p.m. on Feb. 7 and 2 p.m. on Feb. 9 against Mercy.

TOP THREE
The Daemen University men's basketball team retained their No. 2 ranking in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Poll and No. 3 spot in the most recent Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) National Poll. Daemen garnered 381 points and one first-place vote in the NABC poll and 314 points in the most recent D2CSC poll. Daemen remains the only ECC to be ranked within the top 25 as well and one of three East Region teams along with Adelphi and Pace of the NE-10 to be ranked in both polls as well. Regionally, the Wild- cats topped the D2CSC East Region Poll for the ninth consecutive week as they garnered 60 points and all six first-place votes.

CHART TOPPER
One of two undefeated teams remaining across the country, the 'Cats currently lead the nation in field goal percentage defense at .361. Daemen also ranks second nationally in scoring margin (23.7), third in scoring defense (61.6), fourth in field goal percentage (.520), fourth in effective field goal percentage (.590) and fifth in assists per game (19.8). Individually, redshirt sophomore center Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) leads the nation in field goal percentage at .732, 29th nationally in blocks per game (1.79) and 33rd in total blocks (34). Additionally, graduate student guard Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) leads the conference and is 27th nationally in assist/turnover ratio at 2.73.

HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
Daemen and St. Thomas Aquinas have faced off in the ECC Men's Basketball Championships for the last four seasons and in 2021 also battled one another in the NCAA Men's Basketball Champi- onship East Region Finals during the 2020-21 campaign. That season, Daemen dropped the ECC Championship to STAC, 83-67, but avenged the loss with a 71-70 win in the East Region Finals to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight for the first time in the program's NCAA era. Daemen won the first meeting between the two sides this season, 84-55, on Dec. 13 at home. In the most recent D2CSC East Region Poll, Daemen was tabbed No. 1 while St. Thomas Aquinas was tabbed No. 4.

HAVE A DAY SALZ
Graduate student guard Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) had a career game against Staten Island as he knocked down a career-best six 3-pointers and 22 points. The Manlius, N.Y., native became the first player since guard Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y) last season against Franklin Pierce (Dec. 19, 2023) to tally at least six 3-pointers in a game. This season, Salzberg currently ranks second on the team in triples with 32.

SCOUTING ST. THOMAS AQUINAS (15-7, 7-2 ECC)
Currently second in the ECC standings, the Spartans have won four of their last five games, including their last outing with an 89-67 home win over Roberts Wesleyan on Feb. 2. STAC has four players averaging above 10.0 ppg, led by Luis Risquez and his 12.2 points per game. Hartnel Haye has led the Spartans efforts on the glass with a team-best 8.2 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 12-22 all-time against St. Thomas with the sides having evenly split the last four meetings.

SCOUTING MERCY (5-13, 4-5 ECC)
The Mavericks have lost their last three games by a combined seven points and fell in their last game to Roberts Wesleyan 99-96 on Jan. 31. Brothers Nathan and Ethan Robertston have led the Mavericks in scoring this season with 16.1 and 16.0 ppg which ranks sixth and seventh in the ECC respectively. Ethan Robertson has also helped Mercy on the glass with his team-best 7.2 rpg.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 23-0 all-time against Mercy with the series dating back to the 2013-14 season.

UP NEXT
Daemen returns to Amherst, N.Y., to face Molloy on Feb. 14 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 University men's basketball program on Twitter and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.

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