AMHERST, N.Y. - Three members of the Daemen University men's basketball team collected 2024-25 College Sports Communications (CSC) Academic All-District honors, recognizing their combined achievements on the court and in the classroom.

To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must be a starter of important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, and they must have reached sophomore athletic eligibility. Select Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. Academic All-America honorees will be announced on April 15. 

Graduate students Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) and Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) along with sophomore guard Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) all earned the award. For Mason, it is the third consecutive year he earned the award. As for Becker, it is the second time he took home the honor dating back to his time at Saint Anselm while it is the first time Philipkoski collected CSC Academic All-District honors. The 'Cats three selections are tied with the University at Buffalo (Division I/MAC) for the most CSC Academic All-District selections of any Division I or II Western New York school as well. 
 

?? @CollSportsComm Academic All-District honorees for the 'Cats!#TheWildcatWay | @daemenuniv pic.twitter.com/iRvZR14K7E

— Daemen Men's Basketball (@DaemenMBB) March 25, 2025

One of four players to start and play in all 29 games this season, Mason ended his collegiate career as Daemen's all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 324. His 324 triples also rank third all-time in East Coast Conference history as well. The Webster, N.Y., native ended the year as the team leader in 3-pointers (66), second in free-throw percentage (.857) and fourth in minutes played (25.1). Mason eclipsed double-digits in scoring on 12 occasions, highlighted by a season-best 19 points against Mercy on Dec. 15. Twice this year, the graduate student guard knocked down five 3-pointers, doing so against Mercy (Dec 15) and Roberts Wesleyan (March 1). Over five season, Mason appaeared in 132 games played which ranks second all-time and one shy of the program record of 133 set by Andrew Sischo (2017-22). 

In his lone year with the Wildcats, Becker made his impact felt as he started in all 28 games he appeared in and led the team in 3-pointer percentage (.553), ranked second in total assists (95) and ended the year second in the ECC for assists/turnover ratio at 2.2. In just his second game with Daemen, Becker dropped a season-high 18 points and nearly secured a double-double with eight rebounds in the 'Cats 96-55 win over Saint Anselm (Nov. 9). The Fairfield, Conn., native followed that performance with a 15 point, 10 rebound double-double two games later in his home state against Post (Nov. 23). This is the second time in his career that Becker earned CSC Academic All-District Honors as he collected the award during the 2022-23 season while with Saint Anselm. 

Philipkoski landed all-district honors for the first time in his career this year after appearing in all but two games for the 'Cats this year. The sophomore guard ended the year ranked third on the team for points per game (10.0), total assists (83), free-throws made (49) and as the ECC leader in assist/turnover ratio at 2.4. Philipkoski finished with 10-or-more points on 12 occasions, highlighted by a season-high 22 points against D'Youville (Jan. 16). The New Hartford, N.Y., native also tallied a career-best seven assists against Roberts Wesleyan (March 1) and notched two double-doubles this year (Dec. 6 at Staten Island & Feb. 22 at D'Youville). This is the second major award Philipkoski has collected this year as he was named to the All-ECC Third Team for the first time in his career earlier this month as well. 

This year, Daemen finished with a program record 28 wins and were ranked No. 1 in the nation in the final three NABC National Polls, becoming the first Division I or II school in New York to be ranked No. 1 in a national poll for three-or-more consecutive weeks since Syracuse was ranked No. 1 in three consecutive AP Polls from Feb. 3 - Feb. 17, 2014. Daemen also became the first team since C.W. Post during the 2008-09 campaign to go undefeated during the regular season as they went 25-0 ahead of postseason play. The Wildcats claimed their third ECC Regular Season Title and first ECC Championship with an 88-80 win over St. Thomas Aquinas on March 9. 

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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.
 
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