Utica, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team will open the 2018-2019 season on the road Friday night, as the team will compete in the Hilbert College Tip-Off Tournament. UC will face RPI on day one of the tournament, beginning at 6 p.m.
 
Hilbert Tip-Off Tournament: The Pioneers have been invited to participate in the Hilbert Tip-Off Tournament to open up the season. The Utica vs. RPI game begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, while Hilbert will host Waynesburg University for the later 8 p.m. game on day one. The winner of each game will meet up at 3 p.m. on Saturday for the Championship Game, with the Consolation Game beginning at 1 p.m. for the two losing squads. Live video broadcasts of the tournament this weekend can be found at https://boxcast.tv/view/hilbert-hawks-against-hunger-tip-off-tourney-642861.
 
New Faces: The Utica College men's basketball team got a lot younger this offseason, adding nine freshman and one sophomore to the roster. The sizable incoming freshman class is made up of Jabri Lateef (Orange, NJ/Union), De'andrae McFarlane (Elizabeth, NJ/Union), Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian), Chris Green (White Plains, NY/Alexander Hamilton), Chimdi Eboh (Orange, NJ/Union), Jaylin Miller (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial), CJ Harris (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton), Justin Worth (Catskill, NY/Catskill), and Ryan Smith (Greene, NY/Greene). The lone sophomore addition to the squad is John Malone II (Chicago, IL/Quincy University). A young team always benefits from solid contributions out of the freshman, so be on the lookout for these young players to make an impact this season.
 
Returners: The Pioneers are welcoming back 10 returning players from last year's roster, after graduating five seniors last season. Justin Mayers (Hastings, NY/Hastings on the Hudson) is back as the lone senior on the squad, and was named team captain during the preseason. The junior class is comprised of Tyler Jollie (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro), Jake Kulakowski (Brewerton, NY/Central Square), Justin Strielkauskas (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross), and Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford). Finally we have Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle), Shawn Gashi (Central Square, NY/Bishop Grimes), Ryan Johannes (Southbury, CT/Catholic University), Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley), and Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson) all returning for their sophomore season.
 
Last Season: Utica finished last season with a 17-10 record overall and an 11-5 mark in Empire 8 Conference play. The Pioneers returned to the Empire 8 Tournament for the second straight year under head coach Sean Coffey, after going on a six game winning streak to end the regular season. The team defeated Stevens in the E8 Semifinals, 63-62, thanks to a game-winning shot by Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley). In UC's first trip to the E8 Championship game since the 2006-07 season, it fell to Nazareth 66-64. The 17 wins from last year was the most for the program since the 2009 season.
 
Season Outlook: After the opening weekend tournament the Pioneers return home for their home opener on Tuesday against SUNY Poly. Prior to the start of the new year, UC will host Fredonia, Vassar, and Anna Maria for the Utica College Basketball Classic over the weekend of December 29^th and 30^th. Then once the calendar year turns over the team will jump right into Empire 8 Conference play with a five game road trip. The regular season will close out with two home games against Alfred (Feb. 15^th) and Houghton (Feb. 16^th). After making an Empire 8 Conference Championship appearance last year, Utica will look to return to the E8 Tournament this season (Feb. 22^nd).
 
Scouting RPI: The Engineers will be opening up their season with Friday's game as well at the Hilbert Tournament. Last year the team finished with a 13-12 record overall and was 8-10 within the Liberty League. RPI was led by Tom Horvat and Andreas Kontopidis during the 2017-2018 season. Horvat averaged 20 points a game and shot just under 40% from beyond the arc, while Kontopidis put up 19.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Both players have returned for their senior year and look to post big numbers yet again.
 
Looking Ahead: Following the weekend tournament the Pioneers will turn its attention towards next Tuesday's home opener against cross-town rival SUNY Poly. The game is set to tip-off at 4 p.m.