Utica, NY - The Utica College men's basketball team (18-6, 9-4 E8) looks to end the regular season strong on the road on Saturday, February 22 at 2 p.m. against Sage. This marks the Pioneers' last game of the regular season prior to the start of the Empire 8 Tournament next weekend. 

Big Statement at Home: Utica rallied past Houghton in what was a blowout for the Pioneers its last time out. They went on to win the game by a final score of 94-66, with three players posting double-digit scoring figures. Sophomore guard Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) led the Pioneers to their blowout win with a team-high 17 points while shooting 50 percent (7-of-14) from the field. Junior Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) was right behind Hopkins with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Junior center Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson) showed his toughness against Houghton -- Murphy racked up six rebounds and had three blocks on the defensive end. The biggest highlight of the game came early in the second half when senior forward Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) stormed down the court to cap off a monstrous one-handed dunk that put the Pioneers up 26 points.

Clinched Playoff Berth: Utica is officially locked in as the third seed for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The Pioneers still have one game to go, but they clinched the third seed with a win over Houghton and Sage losing to Nazareth. This means Utica will play the second-seeded St. John Fisher Cardinals instead of the top-seeded Nazareth Golden Eagles next weekend in the opening round of the E8 tournament. As the No. 1 seed, Nazareth will be hosting the entirety of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament in Rochester, New York. 

Last Time Out Against Sage: The Pioneers steamrolled Sage in their last outing on Jan. 7 by a convincing 82-64 decision. Freshman Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) had the best game of his career when Sage visited Utica. Morreale finished the night with 31 points and a near-perfect 11-of-14 (78 percent) shooting from the field. On top of having the hot shooting hand, Morreale grabbed a total of 13 boards, four of which were on the offensive end. It was a game the Pioneers controlled for the duration. As a team, Utica shot a stellar 48 percent from the field and 52 percent from beyond the arc. UC also asserted its rebounding presence on offense, as the team totaled 11 second-chance points on the night.

Getting The Rhythm Down: The Pioneers are hot in their last two games. This is coming at the perfect time with the conference tournament being right around the corner. As a whole, the team is shooting 50 percent from the field in its last two contests.

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

Points per game (82.8)
3-point percentage (40.5%)
3-point field goals (204)
Free throw percentage (73.2%)
Rebounding Defense (33.4)
Rebounding margin (4.0)
Average margin of victory (9.9)

Sharing The Rock: At this point in the season, four different Pioneers are averaging double-digit scoring figures: Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) (14.6), Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (12.7), Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) (10.8) and Brett Talbert (Deer Park, NY/Knox School) (10.1).

Young Guns: Freshman Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is currently the second-leading scorer on the team. Morreale is averaging 12.7 points per game, and he is also the second-leading rebounder with 135 boards so far. Another freshman in Brett Talbert (Deer Park, NY/Knox School) has done a little bit of everything, averaging 10.1 points per game while totaling team-highs in steals (24) and assists (54). Both players are the only freshmen to crack the top-25 scoring ranks in the Empire 8.

Block Party: Junior center Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson) currently ranks second in the Empire 8 in blocks with 43 (1.8 per game) and rebounds with 218 (9.1 per game) thus far. The 6-foot-8 center is also adding 8.8 points per game for the Pioneers.

Free Throws: Junior guard Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) sits atop the Empire 8 with an 88.9 free throw percentage. Hopkins is right behind him at third in the conference, shooting a clip of 83.7 percent.

Scouting Sage: Sage remains the fourth seed in the Empire 8 and sits five games back from Utica. The Gators are above .500 with an overall record of 14-10 this season but struggle in conference play as they are floating just above the .500 mark with a 7-6 E8 record. Utica has a better record and the advantage last time playing Sage. Jalon Borders leads the team with an average of 15.2 points per game.

Up Next: After the Pioneers close out their regular season against Sage this weekend, they will get ready to play the first game of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The Pioneers are set to battle the third-seeded St. John Fisher Cardinals on Friday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. The winner will see either Nazareth or Sage in the finals the following day.