Utica, NY - The 12-2 (3-0 Empire 8) Utica College men's basketball team is set for a busy weekend, as it looks to protect its perfect home court record against St. John Fisher Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Nazareth the following day at 2 p.m.

Last Time Out: Utica tabbed its eighth-straight win in an 85-75 victory over the Hartwick Hawks Saturday afternoon. Hartwick controlled the pace and momentum of this game in the first half, as it held a 46-34 advantage heading into the locker room. The second half completely flipped the script, with the Pioneers outscoring the Hawks 51-29 en route to their eighth-consecutive victory.  Eight straight wins marks the longest winning streak at Utica since Sean Coffey became the head coach of the program in the 2016-17 season. Senior forward Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) was UC's catalyst all afternoon, posting a season-high 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting from downtown. Six made threes ties Remley's season high, as he also netted six 3-pointers on Nov. 22 against Cazenovia. Junior center Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson) was also a difference-maker, as he posted his third double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Three other Pioneers finished scoring in double digits in the come-from-behind win. Sophomore guard Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) led the group with 16 points, while both freshman forward Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and junior guard Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) contributed 11 points each.

Chasing History: The Pioneers currently sit at 12-2 through the first 14 games of the season, which is the top record in the Empire 8 heading into conference play and the best start for head coach Sean Coffey in his time at Utica. This marks the most successful start in program history since the 2006-07 season, where UC also sat with a 12-2 record through 14 games and went on to finish the season 19-7 overall. Utica is currently four games away from tying the best start in program history previously set by the 06-07 team, which started the season 16-2.

Best in the Nation: UC leads the nation in 3-point percentage, shooting 44.5 percent so far this season. Senior forward Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) leads the way, shooting a conference-best 51.4 percent (36-of-70). This also ranks Remley sixth in the nation in this category.

8 Straight: UC is currently riding an eight-game winning streak heading into this contest. Saturday's win over Hartwick broke Coffey's record for most consecutive wins, as his team closed out the 2017-18 season with seven-straight wins. The Pioneers would have to win their next three games to tie the program record of 11-straight wins, which was set by the 1995-96 team. The last loss for UC came over a month ago against Rochester - a team who was and still is receiving votes in the national rankings - in the University of Rochester tournament championship by a final score of 69-58.

Team Effort: This year's squad leads the Empire 8 in all of the following categories:

Points per game (85.6)
Field goal percentage (48.1%)
Field goals made (405)
3-point percentage (44.5 %)
3-point field goals made (133)
Free throw percentage (73.9%)
Blocked Shots (62)

Leaving No Doubt: The 2019-20 Pioneers also lead the Empire 8 in margin of victory, averaging a spread of 13 points per game.

Sharing The Rock: At this point in the season, five different Pioneers are averaging double-digit scoring figures: Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (12.7), Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) (12.4), Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) (11.6), Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) (11.2) and Brett Talbert (Deer Park, NY/Knox School) (10.7).

Young Guns: Freshman Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is the top scorer on this team. Morreale is averaging a team-best 12.7 points per game, and he is also the second-leading rebounder on the team with 90 boards so far. Another Freshman in Brett Talbert (Deer Park, NY/Knox School) has done a little bit of everything as well for this team, averaging 10.7 points per game while totaling team-highs in steals (17) and assists (34).

Block Party: Junior center Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson) is currently ranked 28th in the nation and first in the Empire 8 in blocks with 32 (2.7 per game) while totaling 110 rebounds (7.9 per game) thus far, which ranks third in the Empire 8. The 6-foot-8 center is also adding 8.1 points per game for the Pioneers.

Free Throws: Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) has been lights out from the charity stripe, as he is currently shooting 83.3 percent (45-for-54) on his free throws. This percentage currently leads the conference.

Old Stomping Grounds: Utica College head coach Sean Coffey is facing a very familiar opponent in St. John Fisher Friday night, as he spent five seasons (2011-2016) there as the assistant coach before coming to Utica.

Scouting Fisher: The Cardinals sport a 7-6 record thus far in the 2019-20 season and have won their last two heading into this contest. Senior guard Sammy Robinson is the leader of this team, as he has averaged a team-high 15.4 points this year. Robinson has also totaled the most rebounds on the roster with 77. Seniors Dennis Hare (11.1) and James Leone (10.5) along with junior Matt Asenjo (10.9) all average double-digit scoring figures as well. 

Scouting Nazareth: The Golden Flyers head into this matchup with a 9-4 overall record, winning three of their last four games. Junior guard Stephen Gabel leads the team with an average of 15.9 points per game, while sophomore guard Zach Stenglein is right behind him with a clip of 15.1. Senior guard Cody Green is also a consistent contributor on this team, poring in 14.1 points per game on a team-high 42 3-pointers.

Up Next: The Pioneers return to action Saturday, Jan. 24 for a road matchup against Houghton College at 5:30 p.m. The team follows this Empire 8 matchup with another one the following day on the road against Alfred.