The Utica College men's basketball team trailed by just four points at halftime, but visiting Stevens Institute of Technology caught fire in the second half, shooting 63% from the floor en route to a 76-59 victory in Empire 8 Conference play Tuesday night. Junior Will Abrams led the way for Utica with 12 points and five rebounds, while sophomore Evan Taylor added 10 points in his debut for the Pioneers. 11 different players scored for Utica on the evening.

The Pioneers dropped to 5-5 overall and 0-2 in conference play, while the Ducks snapped a two game skid and improved to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in the Empire 8.

Stevens jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead in the first 2:27 of the contest, but the Pioneers responded with a 7-2 run of their own in the next 4:23 of play to knot the score at 9-9 at the 13:30 mark of the first half.

Utica senior forward Patrick Goodman scored six straight points in a span of one minute to give UC its only lead of the contest, 16-13, with 6:27 to go in the first half.

The Ducks answered with a 15-4 run in the next 5:09 of play to take a 28-20 lead with just over one minute to go in the half. Utica outscored Stevens 5-1 in the final minute of the half to cut the lead to four, 29-25, as the first half buzzer sounded.

Stevens jumped out to an eight point lead, 33-25, in the first 1:35 of the second half, but the Pioneers would not back down, scoring eight of the game's next ten points, to cut the Ducks lead to two, 35-33, at the 16:38 mark of the second half.

Stevens turned it on in the final 15 minutes of the contest, outscoring Utica 31-16, to earn the 17 point victory. The lead was extended to as many as 21 points with 1:35 to go in the contest before Utica scored the game's final four points.

Patrick Goodman added nine points and five rebounds for the Pioneers, while freshman Jeff Ward also scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench. Freshman Kevin Johnson also added five points and four assists.

Simon Smith led the way for Stevens with 22 points and six rebounds, while Mike Cutri scored 12 points and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. George Greco totaled 11 points and dished out a game-high six assists for the Ducks.

Utica returns to action on Friday night when they host St. John Fisher College at 8 p.m. Stevens returns home on Sunday to square off against Hartwick in Empire 8 Conference play at 4 p.m.

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