UTICA, NY (January 17, 2015) – The Utica College men's basketball team won its second straight in Empire 8 play Friday night with an 82-62 victory against Houghton College at the Clark Athletic Center.  The Pioneers were led by Conor Maisch (Kingston, NY/John A. Coleman) who netted a game-high 17 points on 5-of-6 from downtown.

UC moves its overall record to 6-9 while improving to 2-4 in E8 play and remains home to welcome Nazareth College to the Clark Center on Saturday.  Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.

Utica opened an early lead and never looked back taking a 23 point lead, 50-27, to the break.  Maisch and Robert Tutein (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) led the push with 11 each in the first 20 minutes of action while Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) facilitated seven assists along with six points.

UC continued its momentum into the second half as it worked its way to a commanding, 35 point, advantage just over seven minutes into the final period.  The Pioneers led 69-54 with 12:53 showing on the board and went on to close out the match by 20, 82-62.

The Highlanders fall to 5-9 on the season including a 1-5 mark in conference play. HC returns to the court on Tuesday when it travels to Ithaca College to challenge the Bombers for an 8 p.m. at Ben Light Gymnasium.