UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team is set to welcome Colby-Sawyer College, Connecticut College and RPI to Miga Court this weekend for the sixth annual Utica University Classic. Utica will take on Colby-Sawyer at 4 p.m. on Friday in the semifinals before taking on either RPI or Conn. College in the consolation or championship game on Saturday. The consolation matchup is set for 1 p.m. on December 30 with the championship to follow at 3 p.m. 
 
Follow Along: Live video and stats for all games can be found through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: The Utica University men's basketball team avenged its home loss to Cortland last season by delivering the Red Dragons a home loss of their own this season by a score of 83-79 on December 16. Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) notched a double-double on the afternoon with a 19 point, 10 rebound showing. He also had a pair of steals and an assist. Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) (6-7 FG, 3-3 FT) and Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) (6-14 FG) poured in 15 points each while Brantley also led the team with three steals. Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) (12) and Liam Teague (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) (11) netted double-figures in points as well. Both teams shot right around 50 percent over the course of the game with the Pioneers holding the slight edge, 50 percent to 49.2. Utica also cashed-in on 15 of 18 free-throw attempts while out rebounding the Red Dragons, 34-31. Cortland jumped out of the gates red-hot with a 12-2 lead over the first 3:30 of play. While the hosts eventually remained out front by 10 points seven minutes into the frame, the Pioneers began to chip away at their deficit. Over a four minute span, Utica trimmed Cortland's lead down from 10 points to a tie game at 23-23 thanks to buckets by Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), Call, and Foley. From there, the Pioneers didn't allow the Red Dragons to grow any lead of greater than five points until they claimed their first lead of the game with 4:08 to go in the first. From there, the Pioneers would not trail again. Utica went on to take a 41-33 lead into halftime before two quick baskets by Brantley and Morreale made it a 13 point game early in the second half. The Pioneers maintained a comfortable lead until Cortland came within three points around 13 minutes to play. A combination of Call, Brantley and Bourgault helped grow the Pioneer lead back to eight points with under 10 to go until Cortland came fighting right back, coming within four points with eight minutes to play. Throughout the rest of the half, Utica's lead stayed between five and nine points. That was, until there was one minute to play. Forcing the Pioneers to win the game from the free-throw line, the Red Dragons turned to fouls. While Utica did its part, Cortland kept things interesting by converting on a string of three-pointers down the stretch. However, it was too little too late for Cortland as the team ran out of time for Utica to come away with the victory. 
 
Classic History: The Utica University Classic began in the 2017-2018 season and has been played each year since except for the shortened 2020 season. The first year of the tournament saw Utica take the championship with wins over Anna Maria College and Oswego State. The Pioneers finished as runners-up in the 2018-19 tournament as the team defeated Fredonia in the semifinals before falling to Vassar College in the finals. Utica reclaimed the classic championship in the 2019-20 season with wins over Anna Maria and SUNY Delhi while the 2021-22 classic was cut short after just one game. Last season, Utica defeated SUNY Delhi in an overtime thriller, 97-91, before falling to No.12 Oswego State in the championship, 79-59. The Pioneers are 7-2 all-time in their annual winter tournament.
 
Where we Stand: Through eight games the Pioneers post a 6-2 mark which includes a win in its only league game thus far. Following its pair of holiday classic games, Utica will open up its full slate of E8 games with 15 consecutive contests leading up to the conference tournament. Amongst the league, Utica is as balanced as they came with its third ranked scoring offense (78 PPG) and third ranked scoring defense (69.0 Opp. PPG). Where the team has quietly made its money has been an improved rebounding effort paired with efficient free-throw shooting. Last season on the glass, Utica owned a +0.9 rebound margin compared to the E8's second top-mark this year of 4.1. A large thanks to this comes from limiting opponents to just 33.0 boards per game this year compared to nearly 38 per outing last year. On the charity stripe, the team leads the league with a 0.772 percentage and provides two of the league's top-10 free-throw shooters in Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) (.848%) and Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) (.784%). 
 
Will Call: Another game, another Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) double-double in the books. In his first year as a regular starter, the former Empire 8 Rookie of the Year has recorded a trio of double-doubles and has launched himself near the top of E8 statistical ranks. The senior is 12th in the conference netting 13.6 points per game while topping the league with a .603 field goal percentage. He has also reached double-figures in points in five of his seven outings this year. He's also shown his willingness to crash the boards and protect the rim as he is 12th in the E8 with 6.1 rebounds per game as well as seventh with 0.9 blocks per outing. 
 
Don't Look Now: Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) has started to heat up as the early stages of the season have progressed. Over his first four outings the College of Saint Rose transfer was averaging just over seven points per game and nearly two turnovers per outing. Over his last four, Foley has notched just over 10 points per game, including two outings of 15-plus points, as well honing in on ball security with just two total turnovers. Over the course of all eight games he has also averaged 3.8 boards, 10 total assists and seven total steals. 
 
About Colby-Sawyer: The Chargers are 4-5 with an 0-1 record in NESCAC play thus far. The team fell to Yale University 95-36 in its last outing and is in the midst of a three-game losing streak. The squad is led by a trio of scorers in Cha'Mar Martin, Jaquan Mosley, and Chaz Cullum who each average over 11.1 points per game and at least 4.8 rebounds per game. Mosley is the team's top perimeter threat shooting 40% from beyond the arc with 12 made three-pointers this season. Bryson Jenkins is another shooting threat with over 40 attempted shots from beyond the arc and helps the team stretch the floor. Cullum and Martin are two fine defenders each amassing over 12 steals this season with Mosley and Bullen Taban are two premier shot blockers each rejecting at least 13 shots this season.
 
Scouting RPI: The Engineers are 3-5 with a 1-2 record in Liberty League play thus far. The team fell to Hobart College 64-59 in its last outing and has dropped its last two outings. The unit is led by Jonny Angbazo who is averaging 17.9 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. Avery Eugester and Dylan Matchett are two more fine scorers each averaging over 10.1 points per game with at least 10 three-pointers made this season. Defensively Andrew Deppe, Matchett, and Angbazo have each swiped at least nine steals this season with Eugester and PJ Scalisi being tied for the team lead with six blocks.
 
A Look at Conn. College: The Camels are off to a great start boasting an 8-2 record and are on a three-game winning streak after topping Johnson & Wales University 67-37 in its last game on Monday, December 11. David Murray leads the team in multiple categories averaging 16.2 points per game, 9.1 rebounds per game, and has 18 blocks this season. Elias Espinosa and Cam Schainfield are two more fine scorers each averaging 9.8 points per game with Espinosa leading the team with a 38.1 three point percentage and 24 made three-pointers. The team has thrived on defense, forcing 98 steals and rejecting 45 shots this season. Schainfield has an incredible 23 steals to lead the squad with Murray, Espinosa, Schainfield, Ben Rice, and Dylan Watson each tallying more than five blocks this season.

Up Next: The Pioneers will begin its full slate of Empire 8 play on January 5 when the team welcomes Russell Sage College to Miga Court at 7:30 p.m.