Utica, NY (11/20/12) – The Utica College men's basketball team tips off its second game of the season against non-conference, cross town rival SUNYIT at the Harold T. Clark gymnasium Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Last Time Out: Utica is coming off a 97-84 loss to SUNY Cortland in its season opener on Saturday… Junior Connor Maisch had a team-best 22 points, including 6-of-9 from three point land… Three other Pioneers scored at least ten points including seniors
Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) (17 points) and
Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) (11 points), and junior
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) also chipped in with 11 points as well.
Coach's Comment: “Against Cortland we couldn't cover anybody” Coach
Chris Connolly said. “This week against SUNYIT it's all about taking care of ourselves. We have to play defense for 40 minutes, defense will be the story for us all year long.”
Maish & Company: While defense is a concern for Connolly, the offense seems to be clicking right along... Junior forward Connor Maish put up significant numbers on Saturday scoring 22 points, seven boards and five assists… Utica's starting five totaled 70 of the team's 84 points on the day…
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) made his presence felt by leading the team with ten rebounds…
Alex Meyer (Salt Point, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) came off the bench to score seven points and last year's rookie of the year,
Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius), contributed with nine points and four assists.
The Wildcats: Despite a 5-20 overall record for SUNYIT last year, the Wildcats earned a split with UC in the two meetings last season… The Pioneers fell 102-98 on Dec. 6 last, before defeating SUNYIT 71-70 on Jan. 3… UC holds a 10-3 advantage in heads up play over the last seven seasons… This will be the first game of the 2012-2013 campaign for the Wildcats.
Looking ahead: Utica College travels to the Hamilton College Tournament in nearby Clinton, NY on Saturday to face non-conference NYU in the first day of the two day event... Game time is at 5 p.m. and either 1 or 3 p.m. on Sunday depending on UC's round robin opponent to be announced later... Check ucpioneers.com for updated information and game times following Saturday's contest.
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