ONEONTA, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team outscored host Hartwick 12-7 in the final 5:40 of the contest to earn a key 68-64 victory in Empire 8 Conference action on Thursday night.

The Pioneers have now won three straight games and improved to 8-5 in Empire 8 play. Utica's overall record moved to 13-9 on the season as Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) scored a team-high 13 points and added 13 rebounds.  Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) chipped in with his second straight double-digit effort as he netted 10 points for the Pioneers, while Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) and Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) each posted nine points. Nine different players scored at least two points to pace the Pioneers, who drilled six 3-pointers on the evening.

Utica built its largest lead of the contest, 46-33, by way of a 16-7 run in the first 5:29 of the second half of play. Hartwick answered with a 24-10 run in the next 8:30 of action to take its first lead since the first half, 57-56, with 6:01 left in the contest.

UC's Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) then netted four consecutive points to push the Pioneers lead to 63-60 with 2:13 left in regulation.  Tyler Jollie (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro) added a dagger 3-pointer with 1:30 left to help the Pioneers secure the key conference victory.

The Pioneers trailed by three points, 16-13, midway through the first half until they went on a 17-7 run, capped by a layup by freshman Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle), to hand the visitors a 30-23 lead with 1:57 left before halftime. Lufkin finished the night with eight points and three assists, while senior Carl Taylor (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) added seven points and six rebounds for the Pioneers.

Utica caps a three-game road trip on Saturday when the Pioneers travel to Elmira College to take on the Soaring Eagles at 2 p.m.

Hartwick (8-14, 5-8 E8) was led by 18 points from Patrick Garey, while Brandon LaForest chipped in with 16 points and eight assists. Justin Carruthers added 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor for the Hawks.

The lead changed three times in the contest, while Utica received 20 key points from its bench play.  The Pioneers scored 34 points in the paint and added eight points off of turnovers.