Utica, NY – Utica College junior Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) registered his sixth career double-double (22 points, 11 rebounds) as the Pioneers lost to visiting Montclair State 67-58 on Sunday at the Clark Athletic Center.

The Pioneers (0-5) have now lost five in a row start the season, while Montclair improved its record to 2-2.
 
In the first half, the team's battled back and forth as the score was tied at 16-16 with 8:53 left before the halftime intermission. The Pioneers went on a 14-2 run, in a span of 3:42, towards the end of the first half giving them an eight-point lead, 33-25, following two made free-throws from junior point guard Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) with 3:20 left in the half.  Freshman Tyler Jollie (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro) sparked the Pioneer run with seven points in the stretch. Montclair battled to keep it close as the Pioneers went into halftime with a 39-33 lead.
 
The teams went back and forth in the second half until Montclair was able to take the lead at the nine-minute mark. Montclair went on a 10-1 run over the course of five minutes to make the score 54-51 with just under seven minutes to play. The Red Hawks went on a game-closing 8-1 run in four minutes to take a 63-54 lead with just one-minute left to play. The game ended with the visitors ahead by nine points, 67-58.

Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) recorded his first double-double of the season as he led all players in scoring and rebounds. Freshman Tyler Jollie (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro) came off the bench and scored a career-high nine points for the Pioneers. Freshman Justin Strielkauskas (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross) earned his first career start and tallied a career-high in points with five and rebounds with nine, on the day. All of Strielkausakas' points were earned in the second half.

Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) and Christian Rodriguez (Queens, NY/Cayuga Community College) each registered seven points for the Pioneers.  Jerome Brabham (Utica, NY/Utica Notre Dame) got the start for Utica and totaled four points.  

Montclair State had two double-digit scorers as Brandon Channer and Rahsaan Johnson both scored 12. Jovanni Chatham played well off the bench as he was one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Jarrett Bogus scored all nine of his points for Montclair in the second half.

The Red Hawks registered 21 offensive rebounds on the afternoon and also scored 18 second chance points.

The Pioneers return home once again for their next game on December 2^nd when they host Misericordia University. Utica will be hosting its "Go For Gold" Game starting at 7 p.m. at the Clark Athletic Center.