ALBANY, NY - The Utica College men's basketball team bounced back from their Monday loss with a dominant defensive performance on Thursday. Host Sage was held to just 30 percent shooting from the field, while the Pioneers manufactured 21 turnovers off their hosts as Utica topped the Gators by a 59-44 score in an Empire 8 men's basketball game at Kahl Gymnasium in Albany.

Utica is now 5-2 overall, and in conference.

Chris Green (White Plains, NY/Alexander Hamilton) led Utica with a career day. He logged a career-high 16 points to go with six assists and four steals, while only turning the ball over once in 34 minutes. He balanced out his day with five rebounds.

Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) added a game-high 17 points and also secured three steals. Sophomore Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) chipped in with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson) had a solid day with nine rebounds, three blocks, and a steal defensively.

Utica shot 43.4 percent from the field over the course of the game, and were consistently around that percentage in both halves. Off the 21 turnovers the Gators had, the Pioneers netted 18 points off of those turnovers.

No Gators player cracked double figure scoring in the matchup. Jason Geronimo had a game-high 15 rebounds to lead Sage, while Nathan Mannion had eight points and nine boards.

It was a tight start to the game, with the Pioneers trailing by as many as four points early, but Utica was able to do enough down the stretch in the first half to secure a 30-24 lead at the break. The Pioneers overcame an ice cold three point shooting start to get the lead, as they sat at just a 1-for-6 clip at the midway point. Green had a game-high eight points in the first half, while Lufkin and Sage's Amani Cummings had seven points apiece.

Lufkin led Utica in a second half where they outpaced Sage 29-20. He had ten second half points and also helped the Pioneers heat up their percentage from beyond the arc by converting a pair of three point field goals in the latter stanza. Green turned in another eight points while delivering five of his six assists, and the Gators shot just 28.1 percent on their second half field goals as Utica waltzed away with the win.

The Pioneers and Gators will meet again on Friday on Miga Court at the Clark Athletic Center. Opening tip is slated for 5:30 p.m.