UTICA, NY – The men's basketball team opens up Empire 8 Conference play against Alfred on Tuesday and Stevens on Thursday. Both games are scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: UC topped Medialle 76-73 in a come from behind victory last Wednesday to improve to 3-5 on the season … Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) led the way for Utica with a double-double, grabbing 15 rebounds and putting up 17 points.
 
Empire 8 Conference: Utica Placed seventh out of nine teams with a 6-10 record in Conference play last year … UC last made the Conference Tournament in the 2012-2013 season and was eliminated in the first round by the  #1 ranked Stevens 102-66 … The Pioneers are 1-4 in Conference openers over the last five years including going 0-3 in home conference openers and 1-1 in away conference openers over that span.
 
Leading the Way: Senior Robert Tutein (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) leads the team and is 10^th in the Empire 8 with 15.8 points per game … Tutein's 2.5 3-pointers per game ranks him seventh in the Empire 8 … He also ranks seventh on the schools all-time three point list with 106 3-pointers … Junior Agim Hamiti (Prishtina, Kosovo/Syracuse Academy of Science) is second on the team averaging 10 points per game while senior Jawan Simmons (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) is third on the team averaging 9.3 points per game.
 
Sophomore Tandem: Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) is fourth on the team with 8.8 points per game and Iton is fifth averaging eight points per game … Taylor leads the team with 27 assists while Iton leads the team with 53 total rebounds.

Scouting Alfred: The Saxons are 4-5 overall this season … Alfred is currently on a four game losing streak headed into the match up against Utica … The Saxons are led by Tyler Seelman (16.7 points per game, 20 assists, 16 steals) and Eric Adams (11.3 points per game, 91 rebounds, and 11 assists) … The Pioneers are 6-4 against Alfred over the last five years … UC went 1-1 against the Saxons last year winning 81-75 and losing 98-84.
 
Scouting Stevens: The Ducks are 5-5 overall and 1-1 in Empire 8 play … Stevens currently broke a four game losing streak by defeating Conference opponent Elmira 95-94 in overtime … The Ducks are led by Patrick Barron (21.5 points per game, 35 rebounds, 24 assists and nine steals) and Evan Klimchak (20.7 points per game, 28 rebounds, 45 assists, and 10 steals) … The last two meetings against Stevens were a 80-67 loss and a 71-52 loss.
 
Watch The Game From Home: Make sure to catch live video, audio and stats on http://portal.stretchinternet.com/alfred/  for the Alfred game and http://www.sidearmstats.com/stevens/mbball/ for the Stevens game.
 
Social Media: Make sure to follow live updates of the game on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers… If you are at the game and on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #UCMoose… You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers ... Fans can also follow the Pioneers on Instagram: UCPioneers.
 
Looking Ahead: UC returns home for a three game home stand starting Tuesday against Conference opponent Hartwick College … Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.