Utica, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team plays on the road Thursday, as they face Nazareth College. The Pioneers will look to win their third straight game in this Empire 8 matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Last Time Out: In UC's last contest they defeated Alfred University, 62-61, after a game winning layup from freshman
Miles McNeill (Rochester, NY/Aquinas).
Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) led the way with a double-double, finishing with 17 points, 15 rebounds, and a career-high seven blocks.
Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) scored 17 points as well in the game, shooting 6-for-11 from the field.
Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) was asked to guard Alfred's leading scorer, Tyler Seelman (16.2 ppg), and allowed him to score only seven points. The Pioneers improved to 2-10 overall and 2-1 in the Empire 8.
The Year of the Pioneer: The calendar year of 2016 was not kind to the Pioneers as their record stood at 0-9 before the start of the new year. However, the team has revived itself and is 2-1 since the start of 2017. In 2016, the team's highest shooting percentage in a game was 40.4% against Medaille College (11/18/16). Utica has recorded better shooting percentages in every single game since the beginning of 2017, including a mark of 57.4% in the win over Hartwick (1/5/17). UC has put 2016 behind them and are focused on keeping up its strong play in 2017.
The Freshman Impact: The young players of this Utica College basketball team continue to play an important role. Remley is now the second leading scorer on the team, averaging 12.1 points per game and has made a team-high of 28 3-point field goals.
Tyler Jollie (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro) has proven he is capable of making shots when they matter most, with all seven of his points from the last two games coming in the last five minutes of close games. This includes going 4-for-4 from the free throw line to seal the win for Utica over Hartwick (1/5/17).
Miles McNeill (Rochester, NY/Aquinas) has scored 18 points over the last two games coming off of the bench. McNeill has also shown his clutch factor by scoring the game winning layup in the team's triumph over Alfred.
UC's One-Two Punch: Junior
Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) and freshman
Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) have become the go to scorers for the Pioneers. Iton has recorded two double-doubles in a row now and has grabbed 15 rebounds in each of the last two games. His team best 15.9 points per game has him ranked ninth in the Empire 8 in scoring. Iton ranks second in the conference with 9.3 rebounds per game and first in the conference with 1.7 blocks per game. Remley is second on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game. He has scored double digits in six of the last seven games and recorded 16+ points in each of the last four games. Remley ranks second in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage shooting 42.4%. In the team's win over Hartwick, Iton and Remley combined for 48 points in the contest (1/5/17).
Scouting Nazareth: Nazareth College is currently holding a record of 6-5 overall and is 0-2 in Empire 8 competition. The Golden Flyers have lost two games in a row heading into the matchup with Utica, dropping games to Alfred University and Houghton College. In the team's last contest they lost to Houghton on the road, 81-73. Tyler Stenglein leads the team and is second in the Empire 8 in scoring, averaging 20.3 points per game. Stenglein also is the top rebounder for Nazareth with 6.8 boards per game.
Against Nazareth: The last time UC defeated Nazareth was during the 2014-2015 season on the road by a score of 73-70. In the last matchup between these two Empire 8 competitors resulted in an 83-61 win for Nazareth.
Agim Hamiti (Prishtina, Kosovo/Syracuse Academy of Science) finished with 12 points and four rebounds for the Pioneers. Stenglein scored a game-high 18 points while his teammates Mitch Ford and Maurice Mills both recorded 16 points and nine boards.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers return to action on Saturday, as they head on the road to battle Elmira College (2-9 overalll, 0-2 Empire 8). This Empire 8 contest is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
