The Utica College men's basketball team suffered a tough road loss to Empire 8 rival RIT 89-69 Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers were led by junior Robert Whyte (Pompton Plains, NJ) who posted a career-high 17 points and nine rebounds while sophomore Evan Taylor (Naples,FL) and junior Will Abrams(Somerset,NJ) added 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Utica College struggled in the beginning of the game when they allowed the Tigers to get off to a 16-8 start. Following early foul trouble by senior Pat Goodman, the Pioneers were carried offensively throughout the half by Whyte's 13 points and five rebounds and Abrams nine points. UC struggled to stop RIT defensively, as the Tigers shot 61.1% from the field en route to a 50-34 lead at half time.

The Pioneers would continue to struggle in the second half as they shot 54.5% from the free throw line and continued to turn the ball over. Freshman guard Kevin Johnson (Cambria Heights, NY) scored all of his 10 points in the second half, but it proved to be too little, too late as the Pioneers lost 89-69. RIT was led by Anthony Terry's team high 27 points, while Brendan Harder and Scott Young scored 15 and 14 points, respectively.

The Pioneers fall to 7-15 overall and 2-11 in conference while the Tigers improve to 11-11 overall and 7-6 in the Empire 8. The Pioneers look to bounce back this Tuesday as they take on Empire 8 rival Hartwick College at 8 p.m. at the Clark Athletic Center.

                    ---www.ucpioneers.com--