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Release courtesy of Daemen University Sports Information AMHERST, NY – After compiling one of the best seasons in program history, 2025 Clarence "Big House" Gaines Award winner Mike MacDonald announced that the Daemen University men's basketball team is set to compete in the prestigious 2025 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla. All games will be played at Jenkins Fieldhouse on the campus of Florida Southern College. The Wildcats will take on Lenoir-Rhyne (South Athletic Conference) in the season-opener for both teams on November 1 at 8 p.m. The Bears were crowned Southeast Regional champions during the 2024-25 season and advanced to the Elite Eight where they fell to Washburn. Daemen will face Alaska Anchorage (Great Northwest) the next day on Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. in their final game of the weekend. This will mark the first time since 2019-20 that Daemen has participated in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. That year, Daemen faced No. 1 Northwest Missouri State and defeated Missouri Western State, 68-64. It will be the first appearance in the tournament for both Lenoir-Rhyne and Alaska Anchorage. This past season, the Wildcats collected their first East Coast Conference Championship in program history with an 88-80 win over St. Thomas Aquinas on March 9. Daemen won a program record 28 games under MacDonald while their one loss also set a record for the least number of losses as well. Daemen's 28 game winning streak was the longest this season of any Division I, II or III men's basketball team across the nation and set a new program record for consecutive wins. The 'Cats 28 wins also marked the seventh consecutive full season that they earned 20-or-more wins, the longest active streak of any Western New York school. Daemen joined C.W. Post (1989-90 & 2008-09), Adelphi (2000-01) and Philadelphia U. (1992-93 & 1993-94) as the only four schools in ECC history to finish the regular season undefeated as Daemen went 25-0, winning by an average of 22.6 points. The Blue and White also set the record for the largest postseason win during the Division II Era (2015-Pres.) with a 90-57 win over Staten Island in the semifinal round of the ECC Championship on March 8. On Feb. 18, Daemen made history as they secured their first No. 1 national ranking in program history this season when Daemen topped the NABC Poll. The 'Cats held their top ranking for the final three weeks of the regular season, becoming the first Division I or II school in New York to be ranked No. 1 nationally for three-or-more weeks since Syracuse was ranked No. 1 in three consecutive AP Polls from Feb. 3 - Feb. 17, 2014. Daemen, who was ranked within the top five in at least one national poll dating back to Dec. 17, claimed their third ECC Regular Season Title and earned the right to host the ECC Tournament in Lumsden Gymnasium for the first time in program history. MacDonald and the Wildcats also hosted the 2025 NCAA East Regional at home, becoming the first ECC team since former conference member Bridgeport during the 2020 season to be tabbed as NCAA East Region Tournament hosts. Four members of the 'Cats earned All-ECC honors during the 2024-25 campaign with Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) on the first team, Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) tabbed to the second team and Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) a third team selection. For Bill, he also became just the second consensus All-American in program history as he was named to the NABC Division II All-America Team and D2CCA Third Team All-American while also being tabbed to the Bevo Franics Top 25 Watchlist. Off the court, Daemen excelled in the classroom as Philipkoski, Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) and Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) collected CSC Academic All-District accolades. The 'Cats three selections tied Division I University at Buffalo for the most CSC Academic All-District selections of any Division I or II Western New York school.
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