A pair of former area high school standouts are members of the Daemen College’s men’s and women’s basketball teams that have earned berths in the NCAA Division II Elite 8.

Randolph native Tyler Hind is a freshman on the men’s squad, while Panama’s Natalie Angeletti, also a freshman, is a member of the women’s team.

MEN

In their first ever trip to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship Elite Eight, Daemen men will be the No. 8 seed and face top-seeded West Texas A&M in the national quarterfinals at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana on Wednesday, March 24.

Tip-off is set for 3:45 p.m.

The NCAA unveiled the seeding for the Elite Eight on Wednesday following the conclusion of the eight regional championships across the country Tuesday night night.

Daemen (10-5) advanced to the Elite Eight by capturing the program’s first East Region championship with a 71-70 victory for the ages over East Coast Conference rival St. Thomas Aquinas at the Albany Capital Center. It was the fourth meeting in the last 17 days between the Wildcats and Spartans, teams that have amassed more wins than any other Division II programs in New York State over the last eight seasons.

Andrew Sischo (Guilderland) scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and was named the regional’s Most Outstanding Player as Daemen handed STAC just its second setback of the season. Daemen had previously defeated the Spartans, 84-81, in overtime on Feb. 27, and the regional championship victory avenged their loss to STAC in the final round of the ECC tournament on March 7.

Wednesday’s meeting with the West Texas A&M Buffs, champions of the South Central Region, will be the first in program history. The Buffs are ranked fifth in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll and sixth in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll. They claimed the Elite Eight’s number one seed after after dispatching of two nationally ranked teams in their regional. The Buffs downed No. 16/No. 21 Dallas Baptist (82-65) on Sunday evening and won the regional with a 101-92 victory over No. 10/No. 10 Lubbock Christian last night. West Texas A&M is in the midst of their 19th NCAA tournament appearance and they’ve advanced to the Elite Eight for the third time in the last four seasons.

Hind, a 5-foot-11 guard, has played in all 15 games, averaging 1.7 points per game. He was The Post-Journal’s Player of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons at Randolph Central School.

WOMEN

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – East Region champion Daemen will be the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Elite Eight and will face top-seeded Lubbock Christian in the national quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 23 at the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center. The NCAA revealed the seeding for the Elite Eight Tuesday following the conclusion of the eight regional championships across the country Monday night.

Daemen advanced to the Elite Eight with a dominant 58-40 win on their home court, snapping fifth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan’s nine-game winning streak and avenging an earlier loss to the Redhawks in the East Coast Conference tournament finals. The Wildcats head to the Elite Eight with a 14-2 record and ranked in both Division II national polls (D2SIDA No. 16; WBCA No. 15). Daemen, which has earned NCAA tournament berths in each of the last two seasons, is just the fourth ECC affiliate to advance to the Elite Eight. The Wildcats have won 51 of their last 60 games dating back to the 2018-19 season.

Their reward is a meeting with the Lubbock Christian Lady Chaparrals who claimed the program’s fourth South Central Region championship with a 78-65 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State last. The Lady Chaps hold the longest active winning streak among Division II teams at 32 games in a row, and they’ll enter the Elite Eight with a perfect 20-0 record this season. The Lady Chaps are ranked first in both the D2SIDA and WBCA national polls.

Angeletti, a 6-foot forward, is averaging 4.8 points and 3.6 rebounds. Her season-highs are 10 points against Gannon on Jan. 29, 10 rebounds against D’Youville on Jan. 24; and 31 minutes against Roberts Wesleyan this past Tuesday. Angeletti was 2019-2020 Post-Journal Player of the Year at Panama Central School.