UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's basketball team will look to continue their five-game winning streak this weekend. The Pioneers will go on a road trip this weekend to face Keuka on Friday night at 7 p.m. and Elmira on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. 
 
Follow Along: Keuka will provide live video and stats for Friday night's game through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/keukaathletics/. Elmira will provide live video and stats for Saturday's game through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/elmira/. 
 
Revenge Against Poly: After losing to the SUNY Poly Wildcats earlier in the season the Pioneers sought revenge on Tuesday night. UC pulled off a 79-59 win against the top team in the North Atlantic Conference West. Utica shot over 50 percent from the floor in the first half for 42 points before the break while holding the Wildcats to 26 points on 40 percent shooting. Despite only one made three in the second half, the Pioneers offense kept their foot on the gas throughout the final 20 minutes. UC turned its 14 point lead into 21 points over the first five minutes of the second with baskets by Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson), Chris Green (White Plains, NY/Alexander Hamilton), Hopkins and Morreale. The Pioneers' lead extended to 29 points at one point in the final frame as the team cruised to a 20 point win over the crosstown rival Wildcats. While the offense led the way, the Utica defense held one of the nation's top scorers, Josh Gregory, to six points on just four shot attempts and held Poly to 1-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Morreale totaled 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 from deep. Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) added 14 points in 18 minutes off of the bench with a 5-for-8 shooting night that included two threes. Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) went on to finish with 10 points and a team high four assists while Murphy grabbed a team high 10 boards in the win. 
 
Morreale For Three: Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) has put together an impressive season so far, leading the Pioneers in scoring with 16.4 points per game this season after an impressive 24 point outing against Poly on Tuesday. The former Empire 8 Rookie of the Year also finds himself fifth in the E8 with that scoring mark while his .610 field goal percentage is third in the conference. Aside from becoming a walking bucket for UC, Morreale has done his fair share of the dirty work as well as his 6.1 rebounds per game ranks within the top-10 in the E8, as does his 0.9 blocks per game. 
 
Brantley's Buckets: Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) came off of the bench against SUNY Poly and ignited a spark that helped the Pioneers put the game away. After posting 14 points in just 18 minutes against Poly, Brantley is now averaging 6.1 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting from the field and 36.4 percent from deep, the third highest percentage on the team. In his 11 games the junior has also averaged 3.6 rebounds while totaling six blocks, the third most on UC behind Kimedrick Murphy's (Hudson, NY/Hudson) 20 and Morreale's 12. 
 
Scouting Keuka: The Wolves enter the weekend 1-13 overall and 1-5 in Empire 8 action this season. The team's lone win to this point came at home against Elmira on January 29 thanks to a Mason VanDemortel bucket with 11 seconds left. The Wolves are led by Devin Milton who averages 14.5 points per contest. Although the Wolves are the number one scoring offense in the Empire 8 at 84.9 points per game, they rank second to last nationally in points allowed per game as opponents have averaged 103.4 points per game. Keuka loves the deep ball as well as the team averages 13.1 three pointers made per game, a mark that is number one in the E8 and third nationally.
 
About Elmira: The Soaring Eagles find themselves in the midst of a two-game losing skid that followed a previous three-game winning streak. Elmira is 5-13 this season and is led by Bryan Adams who averages 16.7 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Empire 8 Conference. The Pioneers previously defeated the Eagles 88-46 earlier this season. Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) led the way with 19 points on 6-9 shooting from the field and 5-7 from behind the three-point line. Elmira will travel to Houghton College on Friday before hosting UC on Saturday. Utica has won 15 straight games over Elmira dating back to the 2014-15 season. 
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will conclude their four-game road trip on Tuesday at Hartwick College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.