Hemphill, Heath Named ECC Weekly Award Recipients

1/5/2026 1:00:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen University student-athletes Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) each received recognition with the announcement of East Coast Conference men's basketball weekly awards today, covering games played from Dec. 29 through Jan. 4. Hemphill was named the ECC Player of the Week, while Heath earned ECC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Both Hemphill and Heath played important roles in leading No. 2 Daemen (15-0, 4-0 ECC) to a 72-68 win over No. 22 Adelphi on New Year's Day. It marked Daemen's fourth win against a nationally ranked opponent this season, and the program's 46th consecutive regular season win - a streak that dates back to the 2023-24 season.

Hemphill scored a season-high 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting in the win, marking his first 20-point outing since the final round of last season's ECC Championship. He added nine rebounds and led the Wildcats in assists (4), steals (2) and blocks (2) in another stat-sheet-stuffing effort.

This marks Hemphill's first ECC Player of the Week selection this season, and the fourth straight week he's earned a weekly award. He had been the ECC Defensive Player of the Week in each of the three weeks prior. For the season, Hemphill is averaging 10.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, and he leads the Wildcats in assists (5.2 apg) and steals (2.3 spg). Earlier this season, he became the 29th member of Daemen's 1,000 point club, and has totaled 1,108 points, 755 rebounds and 321 assists his career - the only player in program history with at least 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists.

Heath picked up his second ECC Defensive Player of the Week honor after serving as the primary defender on Adelphi's leading scorer, Dayshaun Walton. Heath's efforts helped to limit Walton to just 10 points (six below his average) while forcing him into eight turnovers in the game. Heath grabbed four defensive rebounds and added a block and a steal to go with his 11 points in the Daemen victory. He has started all 15 games and is averaging career-highs in points (10.3), rebounds (3.3), assists (3.1), steals (1.8) and minutes (30.0) per game.

As a team, Daemen has had the ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection in six out of seven weeks this season. The Wildcats lead the ECC in scoring defense, allowing just 64.9 points per game.

Hemphill, Heath and the rest of the undefeated Wildcats are back in action this afternoon as they take on the Franklin Pierce Ravens with a 2 p.m. tip-off slated in Rindge, N.H.

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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