Utica, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team hosted its cross-town rival, SUNY Poly, on Tuesday for the first home game of the year. The Pioneers took care of business at home, beating the Wildcats 94-83 to improve to 3-0 on the season.
 
UC's incredibly balanced attack on offense featured six different players who reached double figures in the scoring column. Sophomore Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) finished with a team-high 18 points, while Justin Strielkauskas (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross) posted an 11 point, 11 rebound double-double in the win. Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) and Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) each recorded 10 points, as the point guard Shawn Gashi (Central Square, NY/Bishop Grimes) notched 14 of his own. Sophomore Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) came off the bench in a rhythm, putting up 15 points on a 6-for-8 shooting night.
 
After taking a lead midway through the first, Utica allowed SUNY Poly to get back into the game towards the end of the first half. A late first half basket for the Wildcats cut UC's lead to just four points heading into the halftime break. The Pioneers led by as many as 10 during the opening period of play.
 
UC had its foot on the pedal in the second half, stretching the lead to 17, the largest of the game. Just as it appeared the home team was going to run away with it, the visiting Wildcats slowly started chipping away at the deficit. Back-to-back makes from downtown for SUNY Poly's Redell Freeman cut Utica's lead down to just five points with 2:32 left in regulation. Great free throw shooting down the stretch was vital for the Pioneers on their way to securing the 11-point victory.
 
Utica put up 94 points in the game, marking the team's highest scoring output so far this year. The team made 11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc and committed seven fewer turnovers than SUNY Poly. The Pioneers shot a total of 27-for-37 at the foul line and finished 12-for-12 at the charity stripe in the final two minutes of the game.
 
SUNY Poly was led by Redell Freeman's 21 points, six assists, and five rebounds in the loss. Josh Gregory finished with 17 points and seven boards, while teammate Jaylin Gray put up 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor. Despite shooting a healthy 55.6% clip from the field as a team, the Wildcats were plagued by 22 turnovers as they drop to 1-2 on the season.
 
The Pioneers are back in action on Sunday as they travel to Cazenovia for a non-conference matchup. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m.