Alfred, NY - The Utica College men's basketball team improved its record to 14-4 with a 75-65 road victory over host Alfred University on Saturday afternoon. This marks two-straight conference wins for the Pioneers, as they topped Houghton Friday night by a final score of 80-73.
The underclassmen showed up in full force for this contest. Freshman forward Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) led the team in scoring for the second game in a row, finishing with a team-high 14 points. The Whitesboro high school product also added six rebounds and two blocks, a team-best he shared with Sophomore Chris Green (White Plains, NY/Alexander Hamilton).
Freshman guard Brett Talbert (Deer Park, NY/Knox School) served as the facilitator of the offense at the point as he's done all season, dishing out a game-high six assists in addition to his 13 points. Sophomore guard Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) finished with 12 points for the second consecutive game, while junior guard Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) netted 10 points of his own.
UC overcame a slow start in this contest, as Alfred jumped out to an early 10-point advantage (14-4) at the 13:06 mark. The Pioneers came roaring back and took a 37-36 lead heading into the half. Halftime adjustments clearly paid off, as Utica outscored Alfred 27-12 en route to holding a 64-48 advantage with just under seven minutes left to play. UC held onto this lead for the duration to secure its fifth conference win of the season.
Utica dominated in two categories, fast break points and bench points, which proved to be a big difference maker in this matchup. The Pioneers doubled Alfred with 19 fast break points, while their bench combined for 29 points. Alfred's bench players only accounted for 13 points on the afternoon.
Freshman forward Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) made solid contributions off the bench, matching Morreale's team-high with six rebounds coupled with eight points in only 12 minutes of work.
The Pioneers move to 5-2 in Empire 8 play with this W, remaining at third in the conference behind St. John Fisher and Nazareth, respectively.
UC has two days of rest before returning to the court to host the Hartwick Hawks at 5:30 p.m Tuesday evening.
