Rochester, NY– The Utica College men's basketball team topped Neumann University Saturday evening in the opening round of the University of Rochester Tournament by a score of 78-60. The four-team tournament will culminate with a meeting between Utica and Rochester Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the championship game.
 
The first half of this contest was very close, as Utica held a slim 32-30 lead heading into the break. The second half completely flipped the script, as UC outscored Neumann 46-30 en route to its fourth win of the season.
 
Utica's underclassmen had an extremely impressive outing in this contest. Sophomore guard Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) tabbed game-highs in points (20) and assists (six) while grabbing six boards in the process. Twenty points marks a season-high for Hopkins, and is his fourth 20-plus point game of his career. The Florida native did a bulk of his work from the free throw line, as he finished the night shooting 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
 
The freshman class impressed as well, as both Brett Talbert (Deer Park, NY/Knox School) and Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) finished the night with 14 points. Talbert dominated on both ends of the court, notching a game-high three steals while adding a personal season-high in rebounds with eight. 
 
Morreale had a breakout performance in this one, as he posted his first career double-double with 10 rebounds in addition to his 14 points. He also did this very efficiently, finishing the night shooting 5-of-6 from the field.
 
Junior guard Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) added 10 points in his third consecutive double-digit scoring game. Senior forward Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) and junior center Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson) rounded out the UC scorebook, as Remley added nine points while Murphy finished with eight. Murphy continued asserting his dominance under the basket, totaling nine rebounds and a game-high six blocks.
 
UC men's basketball advances to 4-1 with this win, marking the second-straight year the program has won four of its first five games.
 
The Pioneers advance to the tournament championship against the 6-1 Rochester Yellow Jackets tomorrow at 3 p.m.