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Utica, NY (12-10-12) – The Utica College men's basketball team journeys to Schenectady, NY Tuesday to challenge non-conference rival Union College in its final game before an 18-day Holiday break.

Can't make it to the Game:  Follow the Pioneers online with live stats or watch the game live on Union Athletics TV.

Tip-Off: The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will be held at the Viniar Athletic Center on the Union campus.  Recently opened in 2004, the facility has a seating capacity of 1, 000 and is home to the Union College men and women basketball teams as well as the women's volleyball team. 

UC Schedule & Results: Utica is currently 3-4 overall while holding a 1-1 mark in the Empire 8 Conference. After losing three of their first four games to Cortland, NYU and Union, the Pioneers bounced back with back-to-back road wins over SUNY Canton and Hartwick College. UC opened up conference play last week on Dec. 4th and defeated E8 power Hartwick, 75-72, in Oneonta, NY but unfortunately came back home and lost to nationally-ranked No. 25 Stevens, 72-59, on Friday, Dec. 7th. Utica will play Babson (12/29/12) and SUNYIT (1/2/13) before a three-game stretch against conference opponents in early January, 2013.

Honors for Maisch: Junior forward Connor Maisch was named the Empire 8 Player of the Week and the College's Male Co-Athlete of the Week Monday for the week of December 10th, 2012. He averaged 18 points and 9.5 boards as UC went 1-1 this past week in Empire 8 Conference action.  Maisch had a game-high 25 points including eight rebounds in a big 75-72 road win over conference power Hartwick on Tuesday night.  The first-year Pioneer followed up with a double-double on Friday with 11 points and 10 boards as Utica fell to #25 Stevens. On the season, Maisch is leading the squad in scoring and three-point percentage.  He is currently averaging15.0 points per game and shooting .500% from behind the arc on 22-of-44.

Mr. Jeffers on the Glass: Junior forward Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) is second in the conference in rebounds per game and he is close to averaging a double-double this season.  He is averaging 10.7 points and a team-best 8.9 boards per game while recording three double-doubles so far. Jeffers also ranks 18th in the conference in scoring.

Off the Bench: Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman) is seeing considerable action off the becnh, averaging 17.6 minutes per game. Lewis is averaging 8.3 points per game, which is good enough for sixth on the team and 27th overall in the Empire 8. His break out game came back on Nov. 28 as he racked up 21 points, three boards and three dishes in 25 minutes of action.

Dutchmen Scouting Report: Union presently holds an overall record of 6-1 and they have won five straight games, convincingly.  The Dutchmen jump started their streak back on Nov. 25th with a 17-point victory over the Pioneers at the Hamilton Thanksgiving Tournament.  Since, Union has defeated SUNYIT, SUNY Cobleskill, Southern Vermont College and Rochester Institute of Technology by an average 21.25 points per game.  The Dutchmen opened the year with a 62-54 win in Oneonta, NY against Hartwick and their only loss came at the hands of Hamilton College by six points, 73-67.  Senior captain Joe Mason is leading the squad averaging 18 points, 5.3 boards, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game.  Classmate Kevin Donohue is second in scoring for Union with an average of 15.3 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds per contest.

Holiday Hiatus: Following Tuesday's contest, the Pioneers return to the hardwood on Saturday Dec. 29 when they welcome Babson College for a non-conference match.  Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Clark Athletic Center.  Babson is currently 6-3 overall and won four straight as of Dec. 10.