The Utica College men's basketball team lost Friday night to host Stevens Institute of Technology 68-53 at Canavan Arena. The Pioneers fall to 2-8 in the Empire 8 Conference and 7-12 overall, while the Ducks improve to 9-3 in the Empire 8 and 16-3 overall on the season.

At the start of the first half, both teams were knotted at four until Stevens went on a 16-2 run to make it 20-4. Starting at 15:24, UC ran dry and would not score again until 8:43, with a jumper by guard Evan Taylor (Lely, FL)  to make it 13-6. Then the Ducks answered with another 7-0 run. Will Abrams (Somerset, NJ) finally hit from behind the arc at 4:55 in the first to bring the Pioneers within 11 points, 20-9. During that 16-2 run UC turned the ball over eight times. In the first half, Utica was plagued with turnovers totaling 13 and shot only 25% from the field (6-24), while Stevens only had seven turnovers and shot 39% (11-28), including 40% (4-10) from behind the arc. At halftime, Stevens was leading the Pioneers 33-17.

In the second half, UC bounced back outscoring their opponent 36-35, however Stevens run in the first half was enough to carry them to victory. After being down as much as 22 points with 7:36 in the game, UC would pull back within 10 points after a three-pointer by Abrams at 2:15. However, that would be as close as they would come to beating the Ducks. The overall statistics were as follows: FG%: Utica 33.3%, Stevens 39.6%. FT%: Utica 77.9%, Stevens 66.7% (11-15). 3-pt%: Utica 41.7%, Stevens 42.1%. Stevens scored 20 points off UC's turnovers and out scored UC 22-16 in the paint.

Junior Forward Will Abrams had a double-double scoring 16 points and grabbing ten boards. Senior Pat Goodman (Marcy, NY) also had a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds. Kevin Johnson (Cambria Heights, NY) had nine points off the bench, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc.

The Pioneers are back in action Tuesday as they travel to Ithaca to challenge the Bombers at Ben Light Gymnasium. The contest is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. UC beat Ithaca 72-69 on Jan. 12 at Clark Athletic Center in Utica, NY. The Pioneers are 5-4 versus the Bombers since the 2005-2006 season. Ithaca College is 7-5 in the Empire 8 and 14-7 overall this season.

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