UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team picked up a 71-56 non-conference win over crosstown rival SUNY Poly on Monday night.
 
Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) led the way with a Pioneer career-high of 21 points including shooting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. He also was effective on defense with four steals and active on the glass with five rebounds.
 
Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) poured in 15 points with eight rebounds and three steals while Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) had nine points and seven boards. Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) filled the stat sheet with four points, three rebounds, and three steals. Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christain Brothers Academy) continued to make an impact with nine points and four rebounds during the game.
 
The Pioneers were strong defensively with 14 steals as a team with the trio of Bourgault, Brantley, and Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) each recording three or more. Utica did well in the paint scoring 38 of their 71 points down low with 17 bench points. 
 
Utica got off to a quick start with a 6-2 lead thanks to buckets by Barasa, Bourgault, and Brantley. Poly would calm the run cutting the Utica lead to 10-7 yet the Pioneers responded with an eight-point scoring run and led 18-7 halfway through the frame. Utica had a strong barrage of three-pointers as Bourgault canned three with Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) adding another to take a 34-18 advantage with just over four minutes left in the first half. Both defenses played well down the stretch and the Pioneers held a 41-24 advantage at the half.
 
Poly kept poised in the second half, outscoring the Pioneers 32-30 in all. Despite this, the Wildcats couldn't bring the game within single digits at any point over the final 20 minutes of play. 
 
The sides traded blows over the first six minutes of play before five consecutive points by Brantley over a 23 second span handed Utica a 21 point advantage. Thanks to a press that caused some havoc on the Pioneers' offense, Poly trimmed its deficit down to 14 points by the 7:08 mark in the half. 
 
This wouldn't faze Utica for long as Bourgault and Brantley combined for the team's next 10 points, eight of which by Bourgault, to pull the Pioneers back up 69-48 with 3:30 to play. By then, any chance of a Wildcat comeback was out of reach as the Pioneers cruised to defeat their crosstown foes. 
 
Utica (3-1, 0-0 Empire 8) will travel to face Ithaca College on Monday, November 27 at 6 p.m.