UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team turned in a gutty performance despite an 85-78 loss to the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons on Saturday afternoon. 
 
Neither side was able to create much breathing room through the first 10 minutes of play. The teams traded blows until the game was even at 16-16 approaching the nine minute mark with the largest lead in that span being three points by Cortland. 
 
The Red Dragons began to put some pressure on the Pioneers with back-to-back three-pointers while hitting another one from deep a few possessions later to go ahead 25-16 with 7:38 left in the first half. 
 
Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) stopped the bleeding with an answer from downtown to cut Cortland's lead to six. The Red Dragons eventually claimed a seven point advantage with 1:40 to play before Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) converted on a layup to put Utica within five. On the ensuing Cortland possession, Coston's brother, Aaron Coston, put Cortland back up by seven after laying one in off of his own offensive board. Now 40-33 with three seconds remaining, Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) found an open Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) in the corner who drained a three as time expired to put the Pioneers within four entering the break. 
 
Both teams shot well in the first half as Utica went 15-for-32 from the field and 4-for-9 from three while Cortland was 16-for-37 from the floor and 6-for-13 from deep. Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) each shot 50 percent in the first half while Morreale also hit two of his three three-point attempts. 
 
The teams opened the second half much like the first, trading buckets until a Thompson layup and a Brantley three-pointer put the Pioneers down by one with 17:39 to play. 
 
Now 53-50 Cortland with 14:53 on the clock, Brantley knocked down a three to tie the score before giving the Pioneers their first lead of the game since 10:09 in the first with a driving layup with a hair under 14 remaining. 
 
The lead didn't last long as the Red Dragons responded with a quick 6-0 run to go ahead 59-55 with 12:30 left. Cortland extended its lead to eight points with under 10 minutes left in the contest before Utica came storming back again. 
 
Back-to-back layups by Thompson and Morreale made it a 70-66 contest before Thompson made it a two point game with a pair of free throws. Cortland's next trip down the court resulted in a missed three-pointer, leaving the door open for Morreale to tie the game at 70 with another bucket inside the paint. However, as they did all game, the Red Dragons responded with a three to go back up by three points while Brantley came back with a field goal to make it a 73-72 game. 
 
Coston was able to force a turnover on the ensuing Cortland possession while the big man found Bourgault up the court for a fastbreak layup and the lead. 
 
From there, Cortland went on a 7-0 run from the 4:38 mark until 2:48 to play. The Pioneers fought back to come within three with 1:08 to play but the Red Dragons hit another key shot and capitalized from the line to hand Utica its first loss of the year.
 
The Red Dragons had one of their best shooting performances of the year, going 51.6 percent from the floor and 52.4 percent from three. 
 
For the Pioneers, Brantley led the way with a career high 26 points (.478/.400/1.000) to go with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Morreale netted 16 points (.545/.667/.500) alone with six boards and a pair of blocked shots. Thompson recorded 11 points followed by Coston and Bourgault who both had nine points and shared a team high seven rebounds. 
 
Utica (6-1, 2-0 Empire 8) will return to action on December 29 when the team hosts SUNY Delhi in the Utica University Classic semifinals. Tip-off from Miga Court is set for 4 p.m.