UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team travels to SUNY Canton to take on the Roos on Friday night. The opening tip is set for 5:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers fell to St. Lawrence University 62-56 last weekend at the Hamilton Invitational …UC held a 31-28 lead at halftime but were outscored by the Saints in the second half… Junior Robert Tutein (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) was named to the All-Tournament team after leading the Pioneers with 22 points … Tutien also tailed two blocks, two steals, and five 3-pointers….Senior Conor Maisch (Kingston, NY/John A. Coleman) dropped 11 points, six assists and grabbed four boards for UC.
 
RECENT RESULTS VS. SUNY CANTON: In the past two seasons, these teams have met twice, with both games resulting in a win for UC … Last season the Pioneers downed Canton 103-86, and in the 2012-13 season UC picked up the win, 89-66.
 
HISTORY UPDATE: Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) has 311 career assists, ranking him sixth all-time and he needs just 11 more dishes to move into sole possession of fifth place … He needs 82 more assists to become second all-time at UC … Nevins needs 34 more points to crack 1,000 career points … He needs 47 points to crack the top ten list at UC … He currently has 966 career points … Conor Maisch (Kingston, NY/John A. Coleman) continues to climb the all-time 3-pointers made list … Maisch has 109 career 3-pointers, ranking him sixth all-time … Maisch would need 77 more to be second all-time … Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) is now second all-time with 687 career rebounds … Jeffers looks to extend his lead and close the gap on all-time leader, Gordon Taylor, who collected 1,109 boards in his career.
 
MAISCH LEADING THE WAY: Senior guard/forward Conor Maisch (Kingston, NY/John A. Coleman) leads the Pioneers with 17.7 points per game, ranking him third in the Empire 8 Conference…Maisch sits in second in the Empire 8 standings with a .510 average from behind the arc, connecting on 25-of-49 attempts this season.  
 
DISHING THE BALL: Senior guard Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) holds the number three seat in the Empire 8 and leads the Pioneers averaging 4.0 assists per game with 24 total on the season…Nevins ranks third on the team in scoring with 11.0 points per game.
 
TUTEIN BREAKING OUT: Junior guard Rob Tutein is having a break out year and currently averages 12.7 points per game…He also has a team high six blocks.
 
BRINGING DOWN THE BOARDS: Forward Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) leads the Pioneers with 49 rebounds…Jeffers has also dished out 15 assists … He also ranks fourth on the team with an average of 9.3 points per game.
 
MEET SUNY CANTON: The Kangaroos are 3-2 overall and they are coming off a two game winning streak…Sam Annorh leads the Kangaroos averaging 18.8 points per game, scoring 20 plus points in two games… Annorh has picked up 12 total steels so far this season.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers take a short leave for the holidays before returning to action on Monday December 29^th when in Pittsford, NY for the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa Tournament at St. John Fisher College … UC's will take on Washington and Jefferson College in first round action and the tip-off is set for 6 p.m.