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Utica, NY (11/12/12) - The Utica College men's basketball team will tip off against SUNY Cortland at the Harold T. Clark Athletic Center gymnasium Saturday to begin its 2012-2013 season. Game time is at 2 p.m.
The Line Up: The Pioneers' are pleased to welcome back four potential starters to their roster this season… The cast includes 2011-2012 D3hoops.com Rookie of the Year
Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) and senior guard
Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville), who averaged 16.2 points per game (70 3-pointers) last year... Senior forward
Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) averaged 14.7 points per game, while junior forward
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) led the team in both offensive and defensive rebounds with 211... New additions include Hudson Valley Community College junior transfer Conner Maisch, who capped his junior college career with an average of 14.0 points per game, and returner, although absent from the roster last season,
Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman), who Head Coach
Chris Connolly hopes will give the team “big minutes” this season.
Hoops History: The Pioneers have met the Red Dragons in non-conference competition six out of the past seven seasons (2-4 record)... UC will be looking for some retribution this Saturday considering they fell to Cortland 73-62 the last time these two teams ran the floor... Despite
Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School)'s 13 points and six rebounds, plus
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn)' nine points, eight boards and three steals, the Red Dragons still came out on top.
Coaches Comments: Connolly is excited about the team's upcoming season sighting not just one or two but a multitude of reasons why... “We have a fast style,' Connolly said. “We get up and down and we've talked about what it means to finish each game we begin. Last year our difference of margin in loss was four points a game, so we are right on the verge, make a couple free throws, get a couple stops, I think our record could easily go from nine to 16 wins.”
Assistant Coach Sean Burton added he feels confident in the upcoming season and is especially pleased with the leadership he sees so far this year.
What's a Red Dragon?: Cortland State registered a 22-7 overall record last season and defeated Empire 8 Conference member Alfred University, 76-69, in the ECAC Upstate Division III Championship game... Both captain, Jesse Winter, and senior guard, Jeremy Smith return to Cortland's starting five this season... Winter was named to the 2011-12 ECAC Upstate Second Team and Smith was named championship game MVP last season after scoring 19 points against Alfred.
Down the Road: The Pioneers' will host SUNY IT on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at the Harold T. Clark Athletic Center gymnasium at 4 p.m. before heading out to cross-town rival Hamilton College where they will take on non-conference opponent NYU on Saturday, Nov. 21 as part of the Hamilton sponsored tournament.
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