Junior forward Chris Jeffers ranks second in the Empire 8 with 9.5 rebounds per game
Utica, NY (12/6/2012) – The Utica College men's basketball team looks to remain perfect in the Empire 8 Conference when it hosts nationally-ranked No. 25 Stevens Institute of Technology Friday night at the Harold T. Clark Athletic Center (8 p.m.). The Pioneers head into the contest with an overall record of 3-3, while the visiting Ducks boast a perfect 5-0 ledger.
Broadcast Information: Friday night's game will be radio broadcast live on 90.7 FM WPNR and streaming
live online HERE … Live video is also available at
www.empire8.tv … Fans can follow
live stats online HERE … They can also track updates on
Twitter @UCScoreboard or by following the #E8 alongside the rest of the Empire 8 Conference competition.
Game For Brooks Miles: The Pioneers are set to host “A Game for Brooks Miles” on Friday night to help raise funds for the Faxton St. Luke's Healthcare Foundation and the Utica branch of the Children's Miracle Network … The fundraiser will take place as the Pioneers host Stevens (Women – 6 p.m./Men – 8 p.m.) … The Pioneers will wear “A Game for Brooks Miles” T-Shirts during warm-ups and throughout both game's there will be a 50/50 raffle, T-Shirt give-a-ways, and a bake sale … Charles A. Gaetano Construction Corporation has generously donated the warm-up T-shirts for the Pioneers … Utica College's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will be on hand to help staff the event.
Last Time Out: Oneonta, NY (12/4/2012) – The Utica College men's basketball team snapped host Hartwick College's four game winning streak after a 75-72 victory in the Empire 8 Conference opener for both squads Tuesday night at Lambros Arena … Utica junior transfer Connor Maisch netted a career-high 25 points to help UC win its second straight and advance its record to 3-3 overall on the year … Three other players scored in double-figures for UC including sophomore point guard
Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) (16), senior shooting guard
Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) (13) and junior forward
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) (10) … Jeffers also chipped in with a game-high 11 rebounds to record his third double-double of the young season … The Pioneers also snapped a six game losing streak against the Hawks which dated back to the 2008-09 season.
Maisch Fits Right In: Junior Connor Maisch leads UC with an average of 15.7 points per contest and he currently ranks third in the Empire 8 Conference with a 3-point shooting percentage of 51.4%.
UC Can Score: As a team the Pioneers lead the Empire 8 in scoring with an average of 78.5 points per game … The Pioneers starting five is all averaging in double figures … Reigning Empire 8 Rookie of the Year
Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) ranks second on the team with 12.3 points per game ... Senior shooter
Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) is third on the team with 11.8 points per game, while senior big man
Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) is averaging 11.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Double-Double Vision: Junior forward
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) is averaging close to a double-double this season … He currently ranks fifth on the team with 11.0 points per game and he ranks second in the conference with 9.5 boards per contest
Meet the Ducks: The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team is featured amongst the nation's leaders in several categories according to the first statistics release by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) … The release, which takes into account games through December 2, 2012, has the Ducks tied atop the national rankings in winning percentage (100) … Stevens, which is 5-0 overall, is tied with 32 other unbeatens atop this list … Stevens is 28th in field-goal percentage, connecting on 49.2 percent of its attempts, and the Ducks check in at No. 30 in field-goal percentage defense as opponents are shooting just 37.5 percent … Stevens is 25th in three-point field-goal percentage defense (26.2 percent), 45th in scoring margin (plus 12.0), 47th in blocked shots per game (4.2) and 51st in scoring defense (61.2 points against per game) … Individually, the Ducks don't have anyone in the top-50, but all five starters are averaging at least eight points per game and four players are averaging at least 4.4 rebounds per game … Stevens cracked the D3Hoops.com Top 25 for the first time since February of 2008 Tuesday morning, checking in at No. 25. Stevens is 3-0 on the road, 1-0 at home and 1-0 in neutral games, earning wins over William Paterson University when it was ranked 20th and Williams College when the Ephs were at No. 24.
Back to the Hardwood: The Pioneers have three days off before returning to non conference play on the road at Union College (7 p.m.) … As of Thursday morning the Ducthmen were 4-1 overall … Utica Head Coach
Chris Connolly's former assistant coach Peter Durr is in his second season as an assistant at Union under the guidance of Dutchmen Head Coach Bob Montana.
--- www.ucpioneers.com ---
