CAZENOVIA, NY - The Utica College men's basketball team passed another early season road test on Monday night in a convincing 81-59 win over the Cazenovia College Wildcats. 
 
The Pioneers offense ran through Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) through the first seven minutes of the first half as the two combined for the first 13 Utica points which led to a 13-7 advantage at the 13:20 mark. 
 
From that point forward the rest of the UC offense warmed up with five others, along with Morreale and Hopkins, contributing towards the Pioneers' 42-point first half. After starting the half on fire, Morreale decided to close it out in style as well, nailing a three-pointer to beat the horn and carry Utica into halftime up 42-26. 
 
UC fed off of Morreale's buzzer beater, coming out of the break on a 9-0 run over the first three minutes of the second half. The Pioneers never took their feet off the gas throughout the remainder of the game as the team cruised to an 81-59 win over Cazenovia. 
 
Morreale led the team with 22 points as well as with eight rebounds. The junior also shot 9-for-12 from the field and 4-for-7 from three over his 29 minutes on the court. Hopkins' night ended with 13 points and five rebounds while Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) stuffed his stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds, a team high five assists and an effective 6-for-7 shooting from the field. In all, 10 different players scored while 42 of the teams' 81 points came in the paint. 
 
UC (3-1, 0-0 Empire 8) will close out its season-long five-game road trip at Skidmore College on Tuesday, November 30. Tip-ff is scheduled for 6 p.m.