The Pioneers completed the regular season with two huge wins over Ithaca and Elmira to earn a spot in the E8 Tournament for the first time since 2008-09
Box Score
Utica 88, Elmira 84 - Men's Basketball Final
Utica vs. Elmira - Men's Basketball Gallery
Elmira, NY (2/16/13)- Five different Pioneers scored in the double digits, including junior
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) who netted a team-high 21 points to lift the Utica College men's basketball team to an 88-84 victory over Elmira College for its second Empire 8 Conference win in as many days.
With the win, the Pioneers clinched the fourth and final playoff spot in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. UC will take on No. 1 seed Stevens Institute of Technology, Friday at 6 p.m. at Stevens. The winner will play the winner of the other semifinal between Ithaca and St. John Fisher.
UC went on a 14-6 run in the first five minutes of the game led by a pair of threes from Jeffers and senior
Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville). The Pioneers led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, but the Soaring Eagles were able to cut the lead to 47-39 at the half.
Elmira was able to narrow the Pioneer lead to just one point within the first 4:36 of the second stanza, but Jeffers and Baldwin combined for six points over the next minute and a half to stretch UC's lead back to seven. Following 13 minutes of back-and-forth action, Elmira's Derrick Vogel put in a layup and added a free throw basket to pull within one with just 13 seconds left. However, free throws from Jeffers and sophomore
Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) over the final ten seconds sealed the victory for the Pioneers.
Nevins finished with 19 points and four dishes, while Baldwin had 17 points, including two 3-pointers, and four assists. Junior Connor Maisch ended the night with 14 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the line and 2-for-2 on 3-point attempts. Sophomore
Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman) had 13 points and brought down five rebounds, while
Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) and
Marty Felicia (Phoenix, NY/Phoenix) each added two points on the evening.
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