Uitca, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team heads on the road to face St. John Fisher on Saturday, for an Empire 8 matchup. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 4 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: In their last game, the Pioneers were able to earn a significant conference win over Nazareth College, with a final score of 66-58 … Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) led the way with a double-double, finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks … Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) registered 21 points and nine rebounds while shooting 9-for-14 from the field … Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) was asked to guard Nazareth's Tyler Stenglein, the leading scorer in the Empire 8 (21.3 ppg) … Remley held Stenglein to just four points in the first half and just 11 points total in the game … Tyler Jollie (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro) came off the bench and provided 10 points and three offensive rebounds.
 
Conference Standings: With the win over Nazareth, UC improves its record to 6-13 overall and 6-4 in the Empire 8 … The Pioneers are one game ahead of Hartwick (5-5 E8) in the conference standings and currently hold the fourth spot … Utica must remain in the top four slots in order to qualify for the Empire 8 Tournament … As it stands right now, the top four teams are St. John Fisher (9-1 E8), Stevens (8-2 E8), Nazareth (7-4 E8), and Utica (6-4 E8) … A Pioneer victory over St. John Fisher on Saturday would provide more of a cushion for the fourth spot, as the regular season begins to wind down.
 
Statistical Leaders: Iton remains UC's leading scorer and rebounder this season, averaging 16.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game … In the Empire 8 he currently ranks eighth in scoring, second in rebounding and his 2.1 blocks per game has him first in blocks … Iton has earned the sixth highest field goal percentage in the conference, out of those who qualify, shooting 47.8% from the floor … Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) leads the team in assists and steals still, averaging three assists and 1.7 steals per game … Ayarza has the sixth best free throw percentage in the Empire 8, out of those who qualify, with a percentage of 78.2%.
 
Scouting St. John Fisher: The Cardinals are currently 14-5 overall and 9-1 in the Empire 8 … They are on a two game winning streak after defeating Elmira, 70-59, in their last contest … The big man Keegan Ryan led the game with 20 points and eight rebounds, shot 5-for-5 from the floor, and went 10-for-14 at the free throw line … Ryan Henderson added 20 points as well, while shooting 6-for-9 from behind the 3-point arc … Keegan Ryan is ranked fifth in the conference in points per game with 17.5 and is third in rebounding, averaging 8.6 a game … He also currently leads the conference in field goal percentage (58.3%).
 
Against St. John Fisher: The last time these two teams matched up, St. John Fisher came away with a 72-68 victory … Fisher's Keegan Ryan led all scorers with 22 points in the game … Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) led the Pioneers in scoring with 18 points … Freshman Miles McNeill (Rochester, NY/Aquinas) had an incredible second half as he scored 15 of his total 17 points in the second half … McNeill at one point scored 13 consecutive points for UC coming off the bench … The four-point loss is the closest the Pioneers have been to beating St. John Fisher since the 2011-2012 season when UC won by a score of 72-64.
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will return to action on Tuesday, as they head on the road to battle Hartwick College … This Empire 8 contest will begin at 8 p.m.