UTICA, NY- The Utica College men's basketball team will be on the road this weekend for the Hilbert Tip-off Tournament at Hilbert College… The Pioneers will take on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Friday at 6 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: UC lost 82-74 in a hard fought game against Morrisville State College on Tuesday… Senior Robert Tutein (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) and freshman Stephen Gall (Bronx, NY/Benjamin Banneker) led the way for Utica with 12 points each… Senior Jawan Simmons (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) also chipped in with 11 points.
 
SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Tutein has been the leading scorer for the Pioneers in each of their first two games this season… He paced Utica in their first game with 24 points and six rebounds, and led UC in scoring Tuesday night as well, with a stat line of 12 points and two assists in 32 minutes… Simmons has also shown his leadership, as he has finished second in scoring for the Pioneers in each of their first two games… Simmons finished with 16 points and six rebounds in the first game against Cortland, and finished with 11 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes on Tuesday… Tutein is 11^th in the Empire 8 Conference with 18 points per game, while Simmons is 12^th in rebounding with 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
FRESHMAN FOCUS: Gall led all freshmen in scoring on Tuesday night with his 12 points… He was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range, and also finished with two rebounds and one steal in 17 points… Freshman Devin Wilkerson (Germany/Apo Armed Forces-Europe) finished with nine points for the second straight game, and also chipped in with five rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes.
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Sophomore Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) has started both games for the Pioneers, and has shot a high percentage from the floor… Taylor finished with eight points on 4-for-4 shooting in the first game against Cortland, and finished with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting on Tuesday night against Morrisville… Taylor also chipped in with seven rebounds and three assists on Tuesday night… Freshman Seamus McHugh (Latham, NY/Shaker) has been a three-point threat for UC so far this season, making 3 of 6 three-pointers… He finished with eight points; two rebounds, one assist, and one steal in the first game against Cortland, and finished with five points on Tuesday night.
 
TEAM EFFORT: After having eight different players score against Cortland, The Pioneers had 10 different players score on Tuesday against Morrisville… UC outscored Morrisville 36-28 in points in the paint, as well as 16-8 in second chance points, and 32-24 in bench points.

Tournament: Following the game against RPI, the Pioneers will be taking on either Hilbert College or Chatham College on Saturday at the Hilbert Tip-off Tournament. Game time will be at 1 p.m. or 3 p.m., depending on if the Pioneers win or lose against RPI.
 
SCOUTING RPI: The Engineers defeated SUNY Cobleskill in their first game by the score of 75-46… Tom Horvat led the way for RPI with 17 points, five rebounds, six assists, and seven steals… Tyler Gendron finished with 14 points and five rebounds; Asa Barnhill had 11 points and four rebounds, while Chase Almond had eight points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
 
SCOUTING HILBERT: The Hilbert Hawks are 2-0 overall this season … The Hawks have scored over 90 points in both games this year … Hilbert is led by Sean Weisansal and Jerame Owens who both are averaging 18.5 points per game.
 
SCOUTING CHATHAM: The Cougars are 0-1 overall this season … Chatham is led by Nasir Alexander (15.0 points per game) and Alex Schoppen (14.0 points per game).
 
NEXT TIME OUT: UC travels across town to take on SUNY Poly on Tuesday ... The game is scheduled for 4 p.m.