ALFRED, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team lost an 80-74 decision against host Alfed University in the Empire 8 Conference opener for the Pioneers on Tuesday night. UC trailed by just two points, 72-70, with 41 seconds left on the game clock, but the host Saxons made 8-of-8 free throws down the stretch to earn the six point victory.
Utica's record moved to 3-6 overall on the year and 0-1 in the Empire 8 headed into Thursday night's conference match up at Stevens. Alfred, who was led by a game-high 28 points (7-of-9 form 3-point) from Tyler Seelman, improved to 5-5 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
Utica's
Robert Tutein (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) led the visitors with 24 points on 4-of-9 shooting from behind the arc. Sophomore
Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) registered his second straight double-double as he posted 13 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. 18 rebounds was also a new career-high for Iton, who is currently averaging 8.6 points and a team-best 7.9 rebounds per game.
The score was set at 17-17 at the 10:30 marker of the first half until the home team went on a 17-7 run in the next 6:02 to take its first double-digit lead of the game, 34-24, with 4:28 to go in the first half. UC outscored the Saxons 9-3 in the final four minutes of the first half and trailed by just four points, 37-33, at the half.
Alfred pushed its lead to as many as 11 points, 53-42, after a 3-pointer by Seelman with 13:55 to go in the contest. UC responded with a 10-2 run in the next 4:21 of play to cut their deficit to 55-54, with 9:34 to go, but that was as close as they would get.
The Pioneers trailed by just two points on six occasions down the stretch, but the Saxons seemed to have every answer as they did not relinquish the lead for the entire second half.
Justin Mayers (Hastings, NY/Hastings on the Hudson) added 12 points, just two shy of his career-best for Utica, while
Agim Hamiti (Prishtina, Kosovo/Syracuse Academy of Science) and
Mike Cannizzo (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) each posted eight points.
Dalton Cousin poured in 21 points and snagged five rebounds for the Saxons, while Julian Reinhart and Eric Adams added 11 and 12 rebounds, respectively.
