Rochester, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team played St. John Fisher on the road Tuesday night for an Empire 8 matchup. The Cardinals took away the 91-64 victory, despite Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) scoring a career-high 29 points on 9-of-14 from the floor.
 
Coston scored 14 of his points in the first half, helping keep the Pioneers in the game. UC was down 12 points with under seven minutes left in the period, before closing out the half strong. A solid run in the final moments of the opening half cut Fisher's lead to just two going into the mid-game break.
 
St. John Fisher would then take over the game in the second half, outscoring Utica 52-27 in the half. Coston continued his strong play by going 4-for-6 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line to score 15 second half points. The loss puts UC's record to 10-9 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
 
Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) was the only scorer in double-digits for Utica, putting up a career-high 29 points to go with five boards. Shawn Gashi (Central Square, NY/Bishop Grimes) and Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) combined for 17 to aid the Pioneer effort.
 
Ryan Henderson and Sean Williams both tallied 14 points for St. John Fisher, as the team improves to 11-6 overall and 6-2 in E8 play. James Leone completed the contest with 12 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Pioneers will be back at home next Tuesday to host Sage for another conference battle. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.