Utica, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team took on Houghton College at home on Saturday for senior night, as the team honored senior
Justin Mayers (Hastings, NY/Hastings on the Hudson) prior to the opening tip. UC took care of business on its home floor, defeating the Highlanders 74-37.
Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) scored a game-high 17 points and snagged eight rebounds in the contest.
Justin Mayers (Hastings, NY/Hastings on the Hudson) finished with 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists to celebrate his senior night.
Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson) and
Justin Worth (Catskill, NY/Catskill) each grabbed nine boards.
Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) tallied eight points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Houghton started the game in a groove, taking an early 15-5 lead in the opening minutes of play. However, a lock-down defensive effort by the Pioneers limited the Highlanders to just two points for the rest of the half. UC took control and earned a 38-17 lead at halftime, making its opponent shoot only 25% in the period. Hopkins scored 13 of his points in the first half of the game.
The second half told a similar story as Utica dominated on both sides of the ball. The game began to get out of hand, as the Pioneers continued on to win by 37 points. With the outcome of the contest secured many UC reserves received playing time, as 12 members of the team registered points in the win.
The Pioneers' dominance on the day is seen across the stat sheet, as they outrebounded Houghton 51-35. Utica made it tough for the opponent's offense to get good looks, keeping Houghton's shooting at just 24.2% for the game. The win puts the team's record to 13-11 overall and 7-8 in Empire 8 play.
The loss drops Houghton's record to 1-23 overall and 0-15 in the E8. Jordan Holmes was the lone double-digit scorer, as he led the team with 12 points.
Utica has just one game left on its schedule for the season, as it will host Elmira College on Tuesday to finish up the year. Game is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
