Ryan Heath shoots a three-pointer from the right corner as a sold out crowd looks on

25 Straight Weeks In The Top 5 For Daemen Men's Hoops

2/17/2026 3:00:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen University has a top-five ranked men's basketball team for a 25th consecutive week, a string that dates back to last season. The Wildcats are ranked No. 4 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Poll for week 12 of the 2025-26 regular season, and have now been ranked in 28 successive national polls.

Daemen is off to a 26-1 start this season, including a 14-0 mark in East Coast Conference play. The Wildcats are one of just four Division II teams with one or fewer losses, and their 26 wins are the most in the country. The Wildcats posted home conference wins over Mercy (86-60) and St. Thomas Aquinas (82-67) this past weekend,extending their ECC winning streak to 36 consecutive games (dating back to February of 2024) and locking up the league's regular season title for the second straight season.

NABC Division II Men's Basketball Poll for Feb 17 2026

NABC Division II Men's Basketball Poll for Feb 17 2026

Daemen's success this season has been rooted at the defensive end of the court, where they're allowing just 65.8 points per game, ranking 20th nationally. Daemen's stingy defense includes the best shot-blocking numbers in Division II, averaging 6.0 blocks per contest. They also own a +9.9 rebounding margin per game (third in Division II) and are holding opponents to just 39.3 percent field-goal shooting (eighth in Division II).

The Wildcats have been led this season by veterans Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.), Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.). Philipkoski, who is a three-time ECC Player of the Week, is shooting 50.5 percent from the field and averaging a team-high 17.2 points to go with 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He has scored in double figure in all but two games this season, with 10 outings of 20 points or more to his credit. He ranks fifth in scoring, sixth in rebounding and seventh in assists among the ECC's leaders.

Hemphill leads the team in assists (5.2 apg) and steals (1.9 spg) while scoring 11.6 points and grabbing 8.7 rebounds per game. He is a five-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, and his nine double-doubles rank first among all ECC players. Hemphill is the only player among the league's top five leaders in rebounds (second), assists (third), blocked shots (fourth) and steals (fifth). In Friday's win over Mercy, he totaled 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, becoming the first Daemen player to record a triple-double since 2014, and is one of only 12 Division II players to do so this season.

Bill, the 2025-26 ECC Preseason Player of the Year and a consensus All-American last season, has posted six double-doubles and is producing 15.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, while shooting 67.5 percent from the field. The redshirt junior center missed 11 games with an injury, but returned to the lineup Jan. 31 vs. Roberts Wesleyan.

Philipkoski and Bill were recently named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 50 Watch List, putting them in contention for one of Small College Basketball's highest honors, which goes to the non-Division I player deemed to have had the finest overall season. Hemphill was recently named to the Trevor Hudgins Award Top 25 Watch List, an honor that goes to the non-Division I player with the best overall career.

The Wildcats have also gotten solid contributions from the likes of Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.), Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) and Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.).

Now in his third season as a full-time starter, Glover has played in more than 100 games with 87 starts to his credit. He scored the 1,000th point of his career in a recent win over D'Youville, and is averaging 11.4 points per outing with a career-high 53 three-point field goals this season.

Heath is in the starting lineup for the first time in his career, and has responded by averaging 9.6 points, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game - all career highs. He's also been a two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection.

Nwugwo has scored 10+ points in 16 of the last 18 games. He had only four double-figure scoring games in his career coming into the season. The 6-foot-6 redshirt junior forward stepped into the starting lineup while Bill was out of the lineup, and has raised his contributions significantly. For the season, Nwugwo is averaging 9.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.

Daemen is now 54-2 since the start of the 2024-25 season, and the Wildcats have gone 4-1 against nationally ranked teams this year. They own wins over No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne (Nov. 1), No. 5 Fairmont State (Nov. 18), No. 21 Assumption (Dec. 17) and No. 22 Adelphi (Jan. 1).

The No. 4 Wildcats are back in action with another battle for Buffalo supremacy when they meet crosstown rival D'Youville this Sunday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at the Saints Center Gymnasium.

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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