Utica, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team is at home Thursday night for a matchup with Hamilton College. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m.
 
Doris & Walter Miga Court Dedication: UC's home court will officially be announced as the Doris Wester and Walter E. Miga Court, during a dedication ceremony prior to the men's game. The Miga family has had a positive impact at Utica College for many years and recently provided donations which led to multiple upgrades in the gymnasium, such as the brand new bleachers. Stick around after the women's basketball game against MCLA (Tip-Off at 5 p.m.) and join us as we honor the Miga family.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers defeated Cazenovia, 72-56, on the road in their last game. Sophomore point guard Shawn Gashi (Central Square, NY/Bishop Grimes) led the way with a career-high 21 points, as UC won its fourth straight to start the season. Justin Strielkauskas (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross) put up a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
 
Impressive Start: UC is boasting a 4-0 record to start the 2018-2019 season, which marks the best start for the program under Head Coach Sean Coffey. The team is averaging 79 points per game and is winning each game by an average of 9.7 points. Opening the year with a four-game win streak marks the program's best start in over 15 years.
 
The Charity Stripe: Utica has done a solid job at drawing contact and making consistent trips to the free throw line so far this season. As a team, the Pioneers are 87-for-119 at the line, shooting 73.1%, and are getting nearly 22 points per game from free throws. Tyler Jollie (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro) has been perfect at the charity stripe thus far, making all 12 of his attempts at the line.
 
Breaking Out: Shawn Gashi (Central Square, NY/Bishop Grimes) has taken over as the starting point guard as a sophomore and is having a break-out season for UC. Last year as a freshman Gashi averaged 3.1 points per game and only reached double-figures once all season. In his second year he has increased his production dramatically, currently averaging a team-best 16.5 points per game and has scored double-digits in every game so far.
 
Strielkauskas Getting it Done: Junior forward Justin Strielkauskas (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross) has put together solid performances in back-to-back games for the Pioneers. He finished with a double-double in both of the team's most recent wins against Cazenovia and SUNY Poly. Strielkauskas is tops on the team with a rebounding average of 8.8 per game and is scoring 9.5 points a game, earning a stat line just shy of a double-double each game.
 
Scouting Hamilton: Thursday's contest will be a battle between unbeaten teams, as Hamilton is also undefeated thus far with a 5-0 overall record. The Continentals are currently averaging 94.2 points per game and is just coming back from winning the Carnegie Mellon Double Tree Invitational last weekend. Four players on the team are averaging over 10 points per game, as Kena Gilmour's mark of 20.4 points per game leads the way.
 
Looking Ahead: UC makes a quick one game trip away from home for its next matchup against Morrisville State College on Saturday, December 8^th. The game is set to begin at 2 p.m.