UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team went red-hot from the field to put up over 90 points for the second time this season in its 95-60 Utica Holiday Classic Semifinal win over visiting Colby-Sawyer College on Friday. 
 
The win advances the Pioneers to the tournament championship game where they will face Connecticut College. 
 
Utica was lights out from the field shooting 34-for-65 overall including a fantastic 13-for-25 from deep. The team also shined defensively boasting 13 steals and nine blocks while forcing 18 turnovers leading to 23 points off turnovers.
 
Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) was phenomenal, pouring in a career-high 19 points with nine rebounds, one steal, and one block and was lights out from beyond the arc shooting 5-for-6. Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) scored 10 points with eight rebounds, seven assists, three blocks, and one steal and has been a steady producer in all aspects all season long.
 
Neruda Perdomo (New York, NY/Kimball Union Academy) shined, dropping a career-high 11 points paired with four assists, and one rebound while shooting a flawless 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) scored 10 points with three dimes with Ethan Rivers (Madison, NY/Madison Central) scoring seven points in his first appearance as a Pioneer.
 
Utica nearly went wire-to-wire in the victory as the team only trailed for 19 seconds early in the first half. Following the Chargers' quick edge at 7-6, the Pioneers went on an 18-3 run fueled by a pair of Foley three's and quick buckets by Call and Liam Teague (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) to lead 24-10. 
 
From there, the sides battled out the remaining nine minutes of play trading buckets while Utica eventually took a 38-27 lead into the break. 
 
It would be in the second half where the Pioneers found their stroke from beyond the arc. 
 
Throughout the final 20 minutes of play, Utica went 10-for-15 from three-point territory and 18-for-30 overall in the half. 
 
In fact, the team opened the half on a 15-0 run over the first 4:30 of action thanks to three consecutive Foley three-pointers. Call and Brantley contributed the other six points in the run. Utica led by as many as 40 points in the second half before closing out the contest with a 35-point win. 
 
Utica (7-2, 1-0 Empire 8) and Conn. College will tip-off at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the title game.