Utica, NY (2/3/14) - The Utica College men's basketball team looks to bounce back Tuesday, after losing six straight games, as it faces Empire 8 conference opponent St. John Fisher College at 6 p.m.  Tuesday's contest marks the Pioneers' annual "Play 4Kay" game for breast cancer awareness.  

Play 4 Kay:  The 2013 Play 4Kay initiative is an opportunity for a nation of coaches to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond… A 50/50 raffle and bake sale will take place during the game with proceeds benefitting the Perfect Fit Boutique ... The boutique specializes in products for post mastectomy women who are breast cancer survivors, and provides bras and bathing suites unique to the needs of these patients.

Last Game: UC lost a pair of conference games last weekend… On Friday night, the Pioneers tied the game at 93 with nine seconds left, however, Alfred hit a buzzer-beating three pointer to win the game 96-93…  Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman) scored a career-high 31 points for the Pioneers while shooting 60% (12-for-20) from the field…  On Saturday, Elmira held a lead from 10:21 in the first half and never lost it as they defeated the Pioneers 76-65…  Lewis again led the team in scoring with 13 points and Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) chipped in with 12.

Empire 8 Leaders: Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) is currently third in the Empire 8 Conference in scoring per game (17.8)…  Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) (12.0) and Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman) (11.2) are also on the leader board, with Jeffers also ranking fourth in rebounds per game (8.8).

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 262 career assists and needs just eight more to move into sole possession of seventh place on the list… Senior Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) currently ranks third on the College's career rebounding list with 603 over the course of the last three seasons… He needs 45 more to overtake Mark Carmichael (1987-90) for second all-time.

Cardinals Report: St. John Fisher is 11-9 overall and 5-5 in the conference… Fisher is coming off of two conference losses this past weekend to Stevens (76-59) and Hartwick (77-65)… The Cardinals have a balanced scoring attack and are led by their top three scorers Keegan Ryan (13.3), Chazz Lott (12.5), and  Adam Ambielli (11.1)... St. John Fisher is third in the conference in scoring defense (69.5) and three point percentage (0.371).

Cardinals vs. Pioneers: In the first outing this season in Rochester, NY, Utica was handed an 83-65 loss…  Five players for the Cardinals scored in double figures as they shot 58% from the field…  In the last 10 games between the two teams, St. John Fisher holds a 9-1 record over Utica... The Pioneers last win was on Feb. 3, 2012.

Looking Ahead: Utica will hit the road to play provisional Empire 8 Conference opponent Houghton on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.


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