Utica, NY (1/29/14) - The Utica College men's basketball team looks to bounce back this weekend, after losing four straight games, as it faces Empire 8 conference opponents, Alfred University and Elmira College. UC plays Alfred at home Friday at 6 p.m. and then travels to Elmira Saturday at 2 p.m.    

Game Coverage: Live video for all home games is available at empire8.tv… Links for live stats for this weekend's contests are available on the Pioneers' schedule page at www.ucpioneers.com.
Social Media: If you can't make it out to the game, make sure to follow live updates on the Pioneers official Twitter feed, @UCPioneers… If you are at the game and on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #letsgoUC… You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers.

Last Game: UC lost a pair of home conference games this past weekend to Hartwick College, Friday (93-82) and Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday (92-67) … Four UC players finished Friday's contest with double figures, junior Ian Henderson (Chateaugay, NY/Chateaugay) led the team with 23 points, followed by Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) (14), Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) (12) and Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman) (11) … Two players registered double figures on Saturday as senior Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) led the team with 14 points and seven rebounds and Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman) chipped in off the bench with 12 points … UC went 15-for-20 (75.0%) at the free throw line and outrebounded Stevens 44-to-42.

Individual Season Records: A pair of Pioneer players are close to reaching UC's single-season record book … In 17 games this season, Henderson has made 31 3-point shots and needs just 21 more to crack the top 10 list for most 3-pointers in a single-season … Marty Felicia (Phoenix, NY/Phoenix) has 13 blocks on the season and needs 17 more to crack the College's single season top 10 list.

Career Records: Junior point guard Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) recently moved into eighth place on the College's all-time assist list … Nevins has 257 career assists and he needs just nine more to move into sole possession of seventh place on the list … Senior Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) currently ranks fourth on the College's career rebounding list with 584 over the course of the last three seasons … Jeffers needs 11 rebounds to move into third place all-time … Former Pioneer Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) currently occupies third place after collecting 594 rebounds in four seasons at UC (2009-2013). 

Saxons Report: The Saxons are 13-4 on the year and 4-2 in the conference … They have won all of their home games thus far (five) … Alfred is coming to Utica after a win against Houghton College (103-73) … As a team, the Saxons are ranked first in the conference in scoring offense (100.2), scoring margin (13.6), 3-point field goals made (9.9 per game), and offensive rebounds (22.8) …The player to watch out for is senior Thomas Tsatsis … Tsatsis is third in the conference in steals per game (2.0), 10th in points per game, averaging 14.1 and 16th in assists per game (2.4).

Last 10 years: In the last 10 years, UC is 16-4 against Alfred … The Pioneers have won the last four meetings against the Saxons, including two 86-74 victories last season … The last time UC lost to Alfred was back on Jan. 8, 2011 by the score of 65-60.

Stats against Elmira: The Pioneers lost a close home game to Elmira a few weeks ago, 53-49 … Two Pioneer players finished the game with double figures as Nevins and Felicia both tallied 11 points … In the last ten years, UC is 18-3 against Elmira.

Eagles Report: Elmira is off to a 5-10 start and is 1-4 in the Empire 8… The Soaring Eagles are coming off a road loss against conference opponent St. John Fisher, 69-63… As a team, they rank second in the conference in rebounding defense (32.6), third in 3-point field goals made (7.5 per game), and fourth in the conference in free throw percentage (70.4) … The player to watch out for is junior forward Neil Randolph… Randolph is second in the conference in points per game (18.9), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (39.7), fifth in free throw percentage (83.3), sixth in 3-point field goals per game (2.1), and ninth in field goal percentage (43.5).

Looking Ahead: Utica will return home to play conference opponent St. John Fisher on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m.


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