Utica, NY -- The Utica College men's basketball team is at home on Tuesday, as they face Empire 8 opponent Ithaca College … The game is scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m.
Last Time Out: In their last contest, the Pioneers defeated Alfred University, 66-62 … Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) led UC in scoring with a career-high of 24 points to go with his five rebounds, four assists, and three steals … Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) finished with 18 points and 13 boards, earning the double-double … Christian Rodriguez (Queens, NY/Cayuga Community College) provided significant minutes off the bench, recording 10 points and four rebounds … Utica's record improved to 8-15 overall and 8-6 in the Empire 8, winning its second game in a row.
Conference Standings: With two games remaining in the regular season, each contest will have a significant impact in the standings … If the Empire 8 Conference Tournament started today, the four teams competing in the tournament would be St. John Fisher (12-1 E8), Stevens (10-4 E8), Nazareth (9-5 E8), and Hartwick (8-6 E8) … However, the Pioneers also hold a conference record of 8-6 and will be fighting for the fourth seed as the regular season winds down … Both Hartwick and UC have two games remaining and the outcomes of these games will determine which team will get the fourth seed.
Stepping Up: Over the past three games Christian Rodriguez (Queens, NY/Cayuga Community College) has raised his level of play when the team has need it most … Rodriguez averages 4.5 points per game this season, but in the last three games he has averaged 11 points … As the race for the final playoff seed has tightened, he has provided significant contributions coming off the bench.
Statistical Leaders: Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) is still the team's leading scorer and rebounder as the regular season comes to a close … Iton is ranked eighth in the Empire 8 with an average of 17 points per game and is second in rebounding with an average of 9.8 boards per game … He also continues to lead the conference in blocks, averaging 2.1 blocks a game … Iton's field goal percentage of 48.9% is the third highest shooting percentage in the conference out of those who qualified … Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) and Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) rank ninth and tenth in the conference in assists, as they both average three assists per game … Ayarza's 1.7 steals a game is good for second in the conference, while Taylor's 1.3 steals per game ranks him eighth in the Empire 8 in steals.
Scouting Ithaca: The Bombers are currently sitting at a record of 8-15 overall and are 4-10 in conference play … The team defeated Hartwick in its last game by a score of 92-77, winning its second game in a row … In the game, Ithaca had six players score double digit points … Peter Ezema led the team in both points and boards finishing with 15 points and 14 rebounds … Riley Thompson contributed with 14 points, shooting 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc … The team as a whole shot 54% from the field and recorded 52 points from the bench … Marc Chasin is the team's leading scorer as he averages 17.3 points per game, which is ranked seventh in the Empire 8 … Ezema averages 10.6 points a game and ranks fourth in the conference with his 7.4 rebounds per game.
Against Ithaca: In the last meeting between Utica and Ithaca, the Pioneers defeated their opponents 73-53 … Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) led the team in scoring as he finished with totals of 20 points, nine boards, and five blocks … Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) contributed heavily with 18 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals in the contest … Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) added 11 points of his own in the game as well … UC held Ithaca to 34.8% shooting from the floor while UC shot 45.8% in the game … The Pioneers were also able to out-rebound the Bombers 49-31.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will be back in action once more for their final game of the regular season, as they play host to Elmira on Saturday … The final home game of the season is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
