UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team opened its 2022-23 season with a 94-81 win at home over the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs on Tuesday night. 
 
While the Pioneers started the game on a pair of layups by Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) thanks to quick feeds by Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley), it was the Mustangs offense that hummed early as the visitors pulled ahead 10-4 over the first five minutes of the contest. Following a Utica timeout, the Pioneers went on to outscore Morrisville 13-2 to go up 17-12 with 10:30 left in the first. 
 
With the game even at 17-17 with under nine minutes left, the new-look Utica offense began to click. A pair of three-pointers by Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) and another by Chris Ward (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton) suddenly helped the team pull ahead 28-17. Utica ended the half with a 45-27 edge thanks to 58.06 percent shooting from the field and 46.15 percent from beyond the arc. 
 
The second half came with a plethora of fouls by both teams as free-throws came into play down the stretch. The Pioneers jumped out to a 24 point cushion with 17:24 to play before the Mustangs eventually came within 12 points with 11:12 to play. 
 
Holding a 60-48 lead, Utica could not put Morrisville completely away. The Mustangs pulled within nine at 80-71 with 2:11 left before the Pioneers capitalized on a Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) three-point play, a pair of Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) buckets, and clutch free throws by Coston to fend off Morrisville 94-81. 
 
The Pioneers attempted 24 free-throws in the second half while for the game the team went 24-for-30 from the charity stripe. Hopkins led the team with 25 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field, 3-for-6 from three and 10-for-12 from the line. Morreale added 22 points and six rebounds while Brantley (13 points, eight rebounds) and Coston (eight points, seven assists, seven rebounds) played large roles on both ends of the floor. Newcomers Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) (nine points, 4-for-7 FG) and Bourgault (seven points, 2-for-2 3FG) added some fire to the offense off the bench. 
 
Utica (1-0, 0-0 Empire 8) returns to action on Monday, November 21 as the team heads across town to take on SUNY Poly at 6 p.m.