Utica, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team will be hosting Nazareth on Thursday for an Empire 8 matchup. The contest is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: In the last game for Utica, the team lost to Stevens, 78-77, as the comeback was halted by a big 3-point shot from Stevens … Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) had a strong outing as he finished with game-highs of 29 points and nine rebounds … Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) recorded a season-high of 19 points in the game … Ayarza hit a floater to give UC a late lead, but Stevens' guard Evan Klimchak sank a 3-point shot with five seconds left to steal the game … The Pioneers outscored Stevens in the paint 38-28 throughout the contest.
 
Conference Standings: After the loss to Stevens, the Pioneers fall to 5-13 overall and 5-4 in the Empire 8 … UC's conference record is just half a game ahead of Hartwick College (5-5 E8) for the fourth spot in the conference rankings … However, Hartwick owns the tie breaker and a Utica loss will push the Pioneers down to the fifth spot … Only four teams qualify for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament and as of right now, those four teams are St. John Fisher (9-1 E8), Stevens (8-2 E8), Nazareth (7-3 E8), and Utica (5-4 E8) … The Pioneers are on the bubble right now and will have to win some big games to earn a slot in the top four.
 
Aggressive Ayarza: Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) has shown significant improvement in his scoring output over the last six games … Ayarza has been much more aggressive offensively as he has now recorded double-digit points in six straight games … Prior to this six game stretch, he reached double-digit scoring in just three games throughout the rest of the season … In the team's last contest he notched a season-high 19 points as it was the most points he has scored wearing a Pioneer uniform … After making zero 3-point shots in the first 14 games of the season, he has made four 3-point shots combined over the last four games … He now is averaging 9.3 points per game, which is third best on the team.
 
Statistical Leaders: Iton continues to lead the team in scoring and rebounding … He averages 16.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, which rank him eighth in scoring and second in rebounding in the Empire 8 … Iton also continues to lead the conference in blocks, averaging two per game … Iton's field goal percentage of 48% on the year is the sixth best shooting percentage in the conference … Ayarza leads the team in assists and steals, averaging 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game … He ranks tenth in the E8 in assists and is tied for first in steals … Ayarza also holds the fourth best free throw percentage in the conference (78.1%), out of the players that qualify.
 
Scouting Nazareth: The Nazareth College Golden Flyers are currently sitting at a record of 13-6 overall and 7-3 in Empire 8 competition … Nazareth is now on a five game winning streak after recently defeating Ithaca College, 88-78 ... In that contest Tyler Stenglein finished with a game-high of 29 points and grabbed 11 boards, while teammate Brendan Wind recorded 19 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds ... Stenglein is the team's leading scorer as his 21.8 points per game leads the Empire 8 so far this season … His average of 7.3 rebounds per game also leads the team and is ranked fourth in the conference ... Wind leads both the team and the conference in assists, averaging 6.8 assists per game … Jake Burgio is a strong interior player for the Golden Flyers, as he is ranked sixth in the Empire 8 with his 7.2 boards per game and ranked second with his 1.4 blocks per game.
 
Against Nazareth: The Pioneers last defeated the Golden Flyers during the 2014-2015 season, on the road with the final score being 73-70 … These two teams met once already this year, as Nazareth was able to win at home, 82-72 … In the contest Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) scored a career-high of 30 points as well as grabbing nine rebounds … Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) finished with 12 points and seven rebounds while Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) added 10 points of his own … Nazareth was led in the game by Tyler Stenglein's 32 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will be back in action on Saturday, as they travel to face E8 opponent St. John Fisher College … The game is set to tip-off at 4 p.m.