Senior forward Pat Goodman (Marcy, N.Y.) netted a career-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Utica College men's basketball team defeated host Oswego State 82-71 in non conference play Tuesday night. Junior guard James Patterson (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) added 11 points and nine assists for UC. The contest featured 11 ties, but the Pioneers outscored the Lakers 22-12 in the final 7:55 of the contest to improve to 2-0 overall on the year.

The contest marked the season opener for Oswego (0-1) and Utica has now defeated the Lakers in three of their last five meetings.

The first half was a back and forth battle which included six lead changes. UC opened up a 6-0 lead behind two 3-pointers from Will Abrams (Somerset, N.J.) and Goodman, but the Lakers answered right back with a 6-0 run to knot the contest at 6-6, 2:55 into the first half of play. Four lead changes occurred in the next ten minutes and the Pioneers led 24-21 after a Goodman lay-up with 6:14 to go in the first half. The Pioneers were able to hold onto the lead for the next four minutes until Oswego's Ryan Sheridan knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:05 to go in the first half to give the home team a 33-31 lead. The Pioneers outscored the Lakers 6-2 in the final two minutes to take a 37-35 lead into the locker room at the half.

The contest remained close for the first 12 minutes of the second half, resulting in nine lead changes, until the Pioneers turned it on with 8:07 left to go in the contest. UC used a 10-2 run over the course of 3:02 to take a commanding eight point lead, 68-60, with 5:42 to go in the contest. Oswego cut the Pioneer lead to as few as five, 72-67, with 1:22 left but UC knocked down eight free throws in the final 1:17 to earn the key non conference win.

Junior Will Abrams netted 15 points and added five rebounds for Utica, while freshman Kevin Johnson (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) and junior George Schultz (Ridgefield, N.J.) scored eight and nine points off the bench, respectively.

The Pioneers return to action on Friday at the bi-annual SUNYIT Tip-Off Tournament against Keuka College. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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