Utica, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team is ready to begin playing again after the long offseason. The Pioneers will open the 2017-18 season against The College of New Jersey on day one of the Chuck Resler Tournament, hosted by the University of Rochester, on Friday. The first game of the year is scheduled to tip-off at 3 p.m.
Chuck Resler Tournament: The Pioneers are starting off the season with a Chuck Resler Tournament appearance at the University of Rochester. UC faces TCNJ, while U of R will play Bard College in the second game on the first day of play. The final day of the tournament is Saturday where the day one winners will battle in the finals and the losers will play in a consolation game. The consolation game will start at 3 p.m., while the championship game will be at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Pioneer Newcomers: UC has brought in eight players in this year's recruiting class to fill out the roster. The 2017-18 Utica College men's basketball freshman class includes the following:
Mike Alert (Hudson, NY/Hudson),
Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle),
Shawn Gashi (Central Square, NY/Bishop Grimes),
Ma'Khi Mitchell (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor),
Babacar Ndiaye (Bronx, NY/Wadleigh),
Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley),
Ryan Johannes (Southbury, CT/Catholic University), and
Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson). It will be exciting to see what the new members of the Pioneer family can bring to the court.
Returning Squad: Utica is returning 11 players from last year's roster for this season. Sophomores
Tyler Jollie (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro),
Miles McNeill (Rochester, NY/Aquinas),
Jake Kulakowski (Brewerton, NY/Central Square),
Justin Strielkauskas (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross), and
Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) are all back for a second season.
Justin Mayers (Hastings, NY/Hastings on the Hudson) is the lone junior on the roster, returning for a third year of UC basketball. The senior class is made up of
Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick),
Joe Stortini (Rhinebeck, NY/RIT),
Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College),
Christian Rodriguez (Queens, NY/Cayuga Community College), and
Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining). With the nucleus of last year's squad all back for another year, the Pioneers are ready for the season to begin this weekend.
2016-17 Highlights: UC went 10-16 overall and 10-6 against Empire 8 opponent last year. After starting the season with a 0-10 record, the Pioneers turned it around as they earned an E8 Tournament berth for the first time since 2012-13. The team went on a tear, winning its final four regular season games in a row to clinch the third seed in the tournament.
Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) is back for his senior year after recording career-high averages of 17.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Iton had an incredible junior campaign that was capped off by being selected First Team All-Conference and Defensive Player of the Year by the Empire 8.
Scouting TCNJ: Last year the Lions finished with an overall record of 18-8 and went 14-4 in NJAC competition. TCNJ fell to New Jersey City University in the first round of the NJAC Tournament last season, by a final score of 77-69. Senior guard, Eric Murdock Jr. is the top returner for this year's team after averaging 13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game as a junior. During the 2016-17 season, the Lions averaged 77.1 points per game as a team and shot 44.7% from the field.
Looking Ahead: Following the Chuck Resler Tournament this upcoming weekend, the Pioneers will be back in action on November 21st for an away contest against SUNY Poly. The game is set to tip-off at 5 p.m.
