Utica, NY (1/29/15)- The Utica College men's basketball team faces a tough test this weekend as it hits the road to take on Ithaca College and St. John Fisher.  The Pioneers play Ithaca Friday night (8 p.m.) before facing Empire 8 frontrunner St. John Fisher on Saturday (4 p.m.).
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers picked up a split in Empire 8 Conference action last weekend as they downed Elmira College 78-59, before falling to Stevens Institute of Technology 80-67…  In the win over Elmira, Utica senior point guard Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) led all scorers with 20 points and he also dished out nine assists and pulled in five rebounds… On Saturday, senior Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) led the Pioneers with 16 points.
 
JEFFERS CLOSING IN: Senior Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) has racked up 975 career points… He is just 25 points away from becoming the 15^th 1,000-point scorer in UC history… Jeffers is currently second all-time with 767 career rebounds… He would become just the third player in program history to score 1,000 points and collect over 500 rebounds in a career. 
 
MAISCH ON THE MARK: Senior Conor Maisch (Kingston, NY/John A. Coleman) leads the conference and ranks fifth in the country in 3-point percentage (49.5)… He is the only player in the Empire 8 averaging at least three 3-pointers per game… Maisch is currently fourth all-time at UC with 138 3-pointers made… He is also second in the conference with a .846 free throw percentage (44-of-52).
 
DISHING IT OUT: Senior Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) leads the conference and ranks 16^th nationally with 95 assists on the season… He is currently seventh all time at UC with 1,125 career points. 
 
SCOUTING ITHACA: The Bombers are 8-9 overall and are tied for second in the Empire 8 with a 5-3 mark in the conference… Ithaca is coming off a 96-70 loss to Fisher on Saturday… Ithaca is led by Keefe Gitto, who is averaging 15.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game… The Pioneers fell to the Bombers 97-90 in their first meeting this season.

SCOUTING FISHER: The Cardinals are 15-2 overall and sit atop the E8 standings with a perfect 8-0 mark in league play… Most recently, Fisher topped Ithaca 96-90 to extend its winning streak to 13 games… The Cardinals are led by Keegan Ryan, who is averaging 16.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game… Fisher topped Utica in the first meeting between the two teams this season.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Next up, the Pioneers host Hartwick College in conference action on Tuesday, February 10… Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m.


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