Utica, NY (12/30/13) – The Utica College men's basketball team takes on SUNY Cortland at the Clark Athletic Center on New Year's Eve. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

GAME COVERAGE: Live video for all home games is available at empire8.tv… Links for live stats for Tuesday's contest are available on the Pioneers' schedule page at www.ucpioneers.com.

LAST TIME OUT: UC defeated Union College 78-74 for its second straight home victory… Point guard Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) led the Pioneers with 22 points… Nevins knocked down 10-of-14 free throws and dished out five assists… Senior forward Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) pulled down a whopping 17 rebounds in the win… Utica big man Marty Felicia (Phoenix, NY/Phoenix) posted 15 points and six rebounds.

MOMENTUM ROLLING: After a 1-2 start, the Pioneers have climbed back to 4-3 overall… Utica is 2-0 at home and will look to sweep the three-game home stand against Cortland on Tuesday… Point guard Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) is averaging 27 points in his last two contests… Another win would surely have UC feeling good heading into the thick of the Empire 8 conference schedule.

NASTY NEVINS: Nevins has been stellar for the team thus far… He was named the Empire 8 Player of the Week on December 9th for his play in the Pioneers' win over SUNY Canton… Nevins dropped 32 points as UC topped 100 points as a team for the first time since 2006… On the season he is averaging 21.9 points per game while shooting 52% from the field… He is also dishing out 4.6 assists per outing.

GRITTY JEFFERS: Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) is averaging well over a double-double each game… Jeffers is producing 14.4 points and 13.3 rebounds on average… His eye-popping rebound average ranks fifth in the nation… Jeffers has been very efficient on the offensive end for UC, as he is shooting 52% from the field and also dishing out 3.3 assists per night.

OTHER 'KEY' CONTRIBUTERS: Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman) (58%) and Marty Felicia (Phoenix, NY/Phoenix) (68%) are both shooting very well from the field… Lewis is averaging 11.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game… He has only started four games but has made the most of his opportunities… Felicia is contributing 9.9 points and 7.1 rebounds a night for Utica… He also leads the team with eight blocks on the season.

SCOUTING CORTLAND: The Red Dragons enter Tuesday's contest at 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the SUNYAC… They are coming off back-to-back losses against SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNYIT before the winter break… The Red Dragons are led by the duo of Lamard Herron and Kevin McMahon… Herron averages 20.7 points and six assists per game… McMahon has averaged a double-double thus far… He contributes 16.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.

RECENT MEETINGS: The Pioneers opened up their season last year against SUNY Cortland… Connor Maisch scored 22 in his first game as a Pioneer… The Red Dragons earned the 97-84 victory… UC is 2-5 against Cortland in the past seven seasons.

LOOKING AHEAD: UC hits the road this weekend to open up Empire 8 conference play … The Pioneers take on Stevens Institute of Technology at 6 p.m. on Friday...  On Saturday, UC squares off with Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY at 3 p.m.


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