CLINTON, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team led the majority of the first half and held onto a four point advantage late into the second half, but host Hamilton College outscored the Pioneers 21-12 in the final 4:51 of action to earn a 90-85 victory on Friday night.

Four players scored in double figures for the Pioneers (2-3), including senior Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) who led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds.  Joe Stortini (Rhinebeck, NY/RIT) added 16 points while sophomore Jake Kulakowski (Brewerton, NY/Central Square) posted his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Senior point guard Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists for UC.

Hamilton (5-0) remains unbeaten and the Continentals were led by a 24 point effort from Michael Grassey.  Kena Gilmour posted 19 points, while Peter Hoffman added 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor.

The Pioneers trailed 21-20 less than ten minutes into the contest until they went on a 22-8 run to take their largest lead of the contest, 42-29, with 2:23 left in the first half of play. The Continentals closed out the first half on a 7-0 run and the Pioneers took a 42-36 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes of action.

Hamilton managed to keep the pressure on Utica and knotted the score at 59-59 with 11:00 left in regulation. The lead then changed hands five times in the next 6:49 of action until Hamilton took a 74-73 lead with 4:11 to go. The Continentals outscored the Pioneers 16-12 down the stretch to earn the five point victory.

The score was tied eight times in the contest and each team earned the lead on four different occasions.

Freshman Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) came off the bench and scored eight points for the Pioneers, while Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) had a nice overall performance with six points, seven assists and nine rebounds.

UC returns to action at home on Wednesday when the Pioneers host Morrisville State for non-conference play at 7 p.m.