Pittsford, NY – Nazareth College's Tyler Stenglein converted the game-winning layup in the final moments of regulation to lift host Nazareth College to a 66-64 victory over third seeded Utica College in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament Championship game on Saturday. Utica's Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) finished the night with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while senior point guard Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) totaled a team-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor. 
 
Iton, who capped his career as a two-time E8 Defensive Player of the Year, will graduate ranked fifth on the College's all-time scoring list with 1,286 career points. He also ranks second all-time at UC with 160 career blocks and third all-time with 804 career rebounds.

Utica headed into the contest riding the highs of a seven game win streak, which propelled them into the E8 Tournament championship game.  UC entered the final in dramatic fashion, securing a spot in the tournament with a thrilling overtime win against Stevens, before advancing to the finals with a buzzer-beater win over the Ducks in the semifinals on Friday night.

Utica's 17 wins this season match its most since 2009 when they made the Empire 8 Tournament but fell short in the semifinals against RIT. Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) finished with 14 points and five rebounds, while Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) added 12 points and six rebounds in his final collegiate game.
 
Nazareth's Jake Burgio netted a game-high 21 points, while tournament Most Valuable Player Tyler Stenglein posted 12.  Naz has earned the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and currently holds a record of 20-7.

The home team held an 11 point second half lead, 58-47, with 6:24 left in the contest until the Pioneers went on a 17-6 run to knot the score at 64-64 following an Ayarza layup with 22 seconds left on the game clock. Stenglein answered with the game-winner on the next Naz possession, and Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick)'s half court heave as time expired was off the mark to lift the home team to the E8 championship victory.

The Pioneers trailed by just three points at the half, 35-32, but the Golden Flyers extended their lead to double-digits, 50-40, behind a 15-8 run in the first 8:29 of the second half.

Naz jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the first half of the contest to take a nine point lead. The home team led by as many as 11 points, 22-11, with 7:25 to go in the first half, but the Pioneers rallied with an 18-8 run to cut their deficit to just one point, 30-29, with 2:50 to go before the halftime horn.

Utica sophomore Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) finished with seven points while Tyler Jollie (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro) added three points for the Pioneers.