UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's basketball team will look to push its winning streak to eight games while wrapping up a four-game road trip on Tuesday when the team travels to Hartwick College for a 7:30 p.m. battle against the Hawks.
Follow Along: Live video for Tuesday's game can be found through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/hartwick/ while live stats will be available through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
Last Time Out: UC held off the Elmira College Soaring Eagles for a 74-67 win on Saturday evening. Elmira controlled the opening 10 minutes of the first half after jumping out to a quick 5-0 advantage.
Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) started his 17 point night with Utica's first bucket of the game which was followed by a
Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) three to draw even at five. Elmira would jump back out and hold a lead until just under 11 minutes left when
Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) gave the Pioneers a lead it would not surrender for the rest of the half. UC would take a 38-37 lead into halftime before Elmira regained the lead in the first 30 seconds of the second. Much like in the first, the Pioneers quickly took the lead back, this time by way of
Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and
Chris Green (White Plains, NY/Alexander Hamilton), and would not give it up again. The Soaring Eagles kept the game within 11 points all second half and even came within one point with 5:51 left in the contest. Lufkin answered Elmira's run with back-to-back threes to give UC some breathing room at 69-62 with 3:20 to play. The teams traded baskets over the final minutes until Green iced the game from the free throw line to extend the team's winning streak to seven games. Utica was led in scoring by Lufkin who finished with 17 points with 15 coming from beyond the arc on 5-for-10 three-point shooting. Hopkins and
Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) put up 11 points each while Coston and Morreale reached double digit points with 10 each. Morreale also led the Pioneers with seven rebounds and shared the team lead with Hopkins at three assists.
Ticket Punched: With its win on Saturday and Sage's loss to St. John Fisher that same afternoon, UC has secured a spot in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The Pioneers are currently second in the standings at 9-1 in league play trailing 11-0 Nazareth and just ahead of 10-2 Fisher. Mathematically, Utica can currently be seeded 1-4 however, a win over Hartwick on Tuesday will eliminate the possibility of UC playing in the play-in game.
The Countdown Continues: After netting 33 points over three games last week,
Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) is now 31 points away from becoming the 16th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. The senior finds himself 14th in the conference averaging 11.7 points per game and his 45.7 shooting percentage is the 12th best mark in the Empire 8.
Last Time Against the Hawks: Utica defeated Hartwick 74-53 at home on January 11. The Pioneers held the Hawks to under 40 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent shooting from three while shooting 54 percent themselves.
Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) led the team with 16 points after taking just seven shots all game.
Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) and
Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) also added 10 points each in the win.
About Hartwick: The Hawks will enter Tuesday 0-16 overall and 0-8 in Empire 8 play. Hartwick ranks last in the conference in points per game (61.1) and second to last allowing 81.4 points per outing. The team is led by Steven White and Anthony Girard in scoring with White posting 10.2 points per game and Girard 10.
Up Next: Utica will return home on Friday evening against the nationally ranked Nazareth College Golden Flyers. Tip-off from Miga Court will be at 7:30 p.m.
