MORRISVILLE, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team led by six points at the half, 40-34, but host Morrisville State used a 26-5 run in a span of 11:26 in the second half to rally for a 71-67 victory in the season opener for the Pioneers on Tuesday night. 

The Pioneers (0-1) return to the hardwood on the road this weekend at the Medaille Tournament.  Utica will take on Medaille Friday night at 6 p.m. and will face either Baruch or Goucher on Saturday.

Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) led the Pioneers with 17 points and seven rebounds on the afternoon.  Junior transfer point guard Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, while senior Agim Hamiti (Prishtina, Kosovo/Syracuse Academy of Science) chipped in with 13 points and five rebounds of his own in the Pioneer loss. 

The first half featured four lead changes and four ties.  The Pioneers trailed 13-11 at the 12:46 mark of the first half, but used a 25-12 run in the next 10:02 of action to mount an 11 point lead, 36-25, with 2:44 to go before the intermission.  The Mustangs were able to cut their deficit to six points, 40-34, as the halftime horn sounded.

UC earned its largest lead of the second half, 46-38, with 18:12 left in regulation before Morrisville made its strong second half run.

The Pioneers would not go down without a fight as they went on a 12-2 run in a span of 4:36 down the stretch, but their comeback bid fell just short, as the home team held on for the four point victory.

Utica scored 26 points off of turnovers on the evening, but the home team outscored the Pioneers 38-22 in the paint and added 23 second chance points to earn the victory.

Freshman Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) added 10 points in his collegiate debut, while classmate Tyler Jollie (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro) posted seven points in 16 minutes of action.  Transfer Christian Rodriguez (Queens, NY/Cayuga Community College) recorded six points and three assists for Utica.

Kevin Dennis led all scorers with 31 points and 13 rebounds on 13-of-18 shooting from the floor for the Mustangs. Kyle Peck scored 10 points and Derek Beames added nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor for Morrisville.

The Mustangs shot 58.62% from the floor (17-of-29) in the second half to pull away from Utica.