UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team is set to hit the road and face Ithaca College on Monday, November 27 at 6 p.m. before facing Houghton University on Saturday, December 2 at 4 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Ithaca will provide live video here and live stats here. Houghton will provide live video and/or stats here.
 
Last Time Out: The 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. 
 
Sharpshooter: Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) has been lights out from beyond the arc this season and was terrific against SUNY Poly on Monday, November 20 pouring in a new Pioneer career-high of 21 points. The senior went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc against the Wildcats and that is the second time in four games that he has made at least three three-pointers in a game this season. The Troy, NY native has also been efficient on the glass corralling at least three rebounds while playing fine defense tallying at least three steals twice this season.
 
Gettin' to the Rack: Utica has been creating plenty of easy scoring opportunities by getting to the basket and finishing at a high rate. The team dropped 38 points in the paint against SUNY Poly and has finished each game with at least 34 including a season-high 48 against Morrisville State.
 
You Forgot Something: The Pioneers have been pesky on defense and created plenty of turnovers leading to fast break point opportunities. Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) leads the squad with eight steals while the trio of Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian), Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy), and Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) each have six. Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) has been the team's top blocker with four this season with Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Liam Teague (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) also being efficient defenders with three.
 
Scouting Ithaca: The Bombers are off to a fine 3-1 start after topping Johnson & Wales University 93-70 in its last match on Saturday, November 18. The offense is led by standout scorer Logan Wendell who is averaging 21.5 points per game including a fantastic .421 percent from beyond the arc. Triston Wennersten and Andrew Geschickter are two more offensive threats with each averaging at least 10 points per game with at least eight three-pointers made this season. Wennersten is the team's top rebounder hauling in 8.5 rebounds per game with Aidan Holmes bringing in 5 per game.Wennersten is the top interior defender with five blocks thus far with Evan Cabral leading Ithaca with eight steals.
 
Looking at Houghton: The Highlanders are 1-4 to begin the season after dropping their last game 84-73 to SUNY Geneseo on Saturday, November 18. The team is set to clash with SUNY Canton on Tuesday, November 28 before hosting Utica on Saturday, December 2. Jajuan Preaster leads the charge averaging 21 points per game over his two appearances this season. Preston Thomas and David Rosa are two more fine scoring options with each averaging 13.8 points per game with Thomas being one of the top perimeter threats in the conference going 15-for-43. James Wang is a strong interior presence with eight blocks with David Rosa and Brandon Taylor each amassing over nine steals thus far.

Up Next: The team will host (RV) Hamilton College on Thursday, December 7 at 7 p.m.