Utica, NY (1-14-13) – The Utica College men's basketball team (5-10, 2-4 Empire 8 Conference) heads north to SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday for its final non-conference match of the season against the Bears.
Tip-Off Specifics: Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Jerry Walsh Gymnasium located in Maxcy Hall on the Potsdam campus. Maxcy Hall, built in 1971, is a multi-million dollar facility that has undergone several major revisions in recent years and considered one of the finest sports complexes in the country. The Jerry Walsh Gymnasium has a capacity of 2,600 people.
This Past Weekend: UC went 1-1 on the road this past weekend beating Houghton College, 85-66, and losing to E8 rival Nazareth College, 89-81 … On Friday against the Highlanders, Utica's five starters all scored in double digits while all 14 players saw action … Junior Connor Maisch led the way with a game-high 23 points while classmate
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) posted another double-double with 10 points and a game-high 15 boards … On Saturday, the squad was tied with the current third-place Golden Flyers, 37-37, at the break but could not hang in the second half as UC fell to Naz, 89-81 … Maisch once again led the Pioneers with another game-high 28 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds …. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line while draining 4-of-8 from downtown … Guards
Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) and
Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) combined for 23 points, 12 assists, seven boards and two steals but was not enough as UC dropped its second straight in conference play.
Conference Leaders: In the Empire 8 statistics report, junior Connor Maisch currently ranks third in 3PT percentage (48.5%) and sixth in scoring (15.9 p/g) while teammate
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) is second in rebounding and sixth in field goal percentage (58.3%) … UC 6th man,
Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman) is fourth in field goal percentage with an impressive 60.6 shooting from the floor while guard
Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) is fifth in dishes averaging 4.5 assists per game … Senior big man
Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) has managed 1.2 blocks per game which ranks him fourth.
The Bear Report: SUNY Potsdam currently holds an overall record of 4-8 including a 1-5 mark in the SUNYAC … The Bears have fell upon hard times of late losing their last three games to Ramapo, Brockport and SUNY Geneseo all by 10+ points … Despite Potsdam's .333 winning percentage, the team has posted a 3-1 ledger on their home court with wins over Clarkson, St. Lawrence and Fredonia … Dating back to the 2010-11 season, the Bears have compiled an overall record of 17-46 however managed to secure an impressive 11-13 ledger at home.
Heads-Up vs. Potsdam: The last three times these two teams met the games have been decided by five points or less with UC winning two of them … However, Potsdam won last year in Utica, NY, 72-67, on opening night snapping a four-game slide against UC … Utica had won the previous four meetings by scores of 62-59, 84-79, 86-73 and 74-67.
E8 Standings: Empire 8 Conference powers Stevens Institute of Technology (11-1, 4-0 E8) and Ithaca college (9-3, 4-0 E8) currently share the No. 1 spot with undefeated marks of 4-0 … Stevens is presently receiving votes in the D3hoops.com men's Top 25 Poll … Nazareth College (10-4, 3-1 E8) holds the third spot after a weekend sweep of Elmira and UC … St. John Fisher (9-6, 4-2 E8) occupies the four spot after a 1-1 weekend beating Hartwick, convincingly, and losing to Stevens, 74-68 … The Pioneers (5-10, 2-4 E8) drop down to the fifth spot after losing to Nazareth, 89-81, on Friday … Alfred (3-10, 1-4 E8) sits in sixth with one conference win while Hartwick (7-6, 0-3 E8) and Elmira (2-12, 0-4 E8) round out the standings still winless in E8 action.
Final “Nine”: Following Tuesday's non-conference match, UC will have nine games remaining, all against Empire 8 opponents, of which eight will count in the standings … Four of UC's final nine games will be at the friendly confines of the Clark Athletic Center including its final game at home against Houghton College, which does NOT count in the conference standings .. The Pioneers next welcome Elmira College Saturday Jan.19th for a 4 p.m. afternoon tip-off.
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