PITTSFORD, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team wrapped up its season on Saturday with an 83-61 loss at Nazareth College in Empire 8 Conference play. Senior Jawan Simmons (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) led the Pioneers with 15 points and five rebounds in his final collegiate game in the blue and orange. Agim Hamiti (Prishtina, Kosovo/Syracuse Academy of Science) added 12 points for Utica, while freshman Andrew Druziak (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam ) posted nine points

Utica closes out its 2015-16 campaign with a 6-17 overall record and a 3-12 mark in Empire 8 play.  Naz has earned a right to play in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament with a 16-8 overall record and a 12-3 mark in the E8.  Senior Mitch Ford and Maurice Mills each added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Flyers on senior day at Nazareth. With the win, Nazareth secures the No. 2 seed for the Empire 8 Tournament next weekend hosted by top seeded St. John Fisher.  The Golden Flyers will square off against Hartwick College in the semifinals on Friday night with the game time to be determined.  Nazareth and Hartwick split during the year.

Nazareth opened up a 16 point lead midway through the first half, 29-13, after a 25-11 run in a span of 8:02. The Golden Flyers would not back down and carried a 21 point advantage into the half, 51-30.

Naz led the entire way and pushed to its largest lead of the contest, 68-43 with 10:30 left in the contest, after a 17-4 run in a span of 7:35 in the second half. The Golden Flyers matched their 25 point lead three more times down the stretch and eventually earned the 22 point victory.

The Pioneers won the offensive rebound battle on the day 12-9 and also outscored the Golden Flyers 11-4 in the second chance point category. Utica's bench also outscored Nazareth's bench 23-22.

UC's Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) capped his sophomore campaign with seven points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) finished his break out season with six points. Shawn Celestin (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) added four points and five rebounds off the bench, while Seamus McHugh (Latham, NY/Shaker) and Mike Cannizzo (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) added three points each.

Nazareth shot 52.5% from the floor as four players scored in double-figures. Tyler Stenglein led all scorers with 18 points, as Brendan Wind added 10 points off the bench.