Utica, NY (1/22/13)- The Utica College men's basketball team looks for its second win in a row, Tuesday as it hosts Nazareth College in Empire 8 action. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers are coming off an 85-74 win over Elmira on Saturday… All five starters scored in the double-digits including junior Connor Maisch who has a game-high 25 points…
Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) (16),
Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) (16),
Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) (12), and
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) (10) also chipped in for UC.
Game Coverage: Live stats and video for all home games will be available at ucpioneers.com… ESPN Radio (99.1FM) will also be providing live audio for Tuesday's contest.
Where We Sit: Utica is currently 6-11 overall and 3-4 in the Empire 8… UC is fifth in the conference standings, behind top-ranked Stevens, Ithaca, Nazareth, and St. John Fisher… The Pioneers are also averaging a league-best 74.4 points and adding 36.2 rebounds per game.
Juniors Leading the Way: Junior transfer Connor Maisch leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference with 16.2 points per game… He is also second in the league with a 48.2 percentage from behind the arc… Classmate
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) is second on the squad averaging 11.4 points per game… He is also second in the conference with 149 total rebounds… Jeffers has also collected five double-doubles this year.
The Rest: Senior
Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) has totaled 192 points for the Pioneers this season… He is currently averaging 11.3 points, 3.1 boards and 2.8 assists through 17 games… Sophomore
Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) ranks fifth in the conference with 4.2 dishes per game and senior
Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) is fourth in the league with 1.2 blocks per game.
Scouting Naz: The Golden Flyers are 11-6 overall and sit in third place in the Empire 8 with a 5-3 conference record… Naz is led by junior Brad Ford and senior Tyshun Stephens… Ford has netted 18.5 points and 10 boards per game, while Stephens is averaging 15.6 points and a team-high 4-4 assists.
Against the Golden Flyers: UC is 7-8 against Nazareth dating back to the 2005-2006 season… Earlier this year, UC dropped an 89-81 decision in Rochester… Connor Maisch had a game-high 28 points in the loss… The last time UC defeated Naz was a 92-86 victory on Feb. 13, 2009.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers hit the road this weekend as they travel to St. John Fisher College and Alfred University Friday and Saturday… Friday's contest at Fisher is set for 8 p.m. while Saturday's game at Alfred is slated for a 4 p.m. tip off.
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