MORRISVILLE, NY - The Utica College basketball team responded to its offensive struggles from Saturday afternoon with an offensive outburst on Tuesday night with an 86-46 win at Morrisville State.
The Pioneers controlled the Mustangs from the opening tip-off as the only lead Morrisville held was at 3-2 off of a three-point shot that followed a
Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) which started the game. Utica shot an impressive 60 percent from the field in its 45-point first half while only six points were registered from three-pointers. UC entered the half ahead 45-29.
Utica continued its scoring parade in the second half, shooting over 60 percent again from the floor while stretching shots from beyond the arc seven more times than in the first half to shoot 46.2 percent (6-13) from three over the final 20 minutes. The defense of the Pioneers also held the Mustangs to just 17 points in the second frame on 20.6 percent shooting.
As a team, UC scored 52 of its 86 points in the paint while shooting a collective 60.3 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from three and 72.7 percent (8-11) from the free throw line. Morrisville was held to 27.3 percent shooting throughout the game while the Utica defense forced 17 turnovers throughout the game which led to 22 points.
Chris Green (White Plains, NY/Alexander Hamilton) led the team with 15 points while he and
Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) also led Utica with six rebounds each. Morreale added 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor as well as hitting his only three-point attempt of the night. Guard
Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) scored 13 points and also had a team high four assists while
Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson) was the fourth member of the team to reach double figures in points as the center ended the game with 12 on 6-for-8 shooting.
UC (2-1, 0-0 Empire 8) will continue its stretch of five consecutive road games to begin the season when the team travels to Cazenovia College on Monday, November 22. Game time is still TBD.
