UTICA, NY - Having already secured home court advantage in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament, the Utica University men's basketball team enters the last week of the regular season with two final tune-up games. Utica will host Medaille University at 7:30 p.m. on Friday before closing out its regular season slate at home against Houghton University at 4 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend either game can keep up with live video and/or stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: For the second consecutive season and the second time in program history, Utica clinched the Empire 8 regular season title after a 73-59 win at Elmira College on Saturday. The team also recorded its 20th win of the season, making it the third time in program history and second time in as many seasons Utica has reached that mark. Five Pioneers recorded double figures in points led by Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), who finished the afternoon with a 13 point, 10 rebound double-double. The senior also added three blocks and two steals to his line. Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) each just missed double-double performances as Bourgault went for 13 points and nine rebounds while Call had 10 points and eight boards. Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) totaled 13 points in the win while Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) provided 11 and a pair of steals off the bench. Utica opened the game up on a Morreale three and never looked back from there as the team went wire-to-wire. Elmira kept it close early on as the team stayed within 10 points nearly the whole half. With the score 22-19 Utica and 2:30 to play in the half, the Pioneers went on a 10-0 run, which was fueled by six Brantley points, to end the half up 32-19. The Pioneers carried momentum over from the end of the first half through the second half as the team found themselves ahead by 26 points, 54-28, with 10 minutes to go in the game. Utica remained at least a 20 point lead from 13:54 until under four minutes to play before ultimately leaving Elmira with a 13 point victory. 
 
Senior Send Off: Prior to Saturday's game against Houghton, the men's basketball program will take a moment to recognize its seniors. Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley), Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian), Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill), Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and DJ Harter (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) will each be honored before tip-off. The Pioneers will also hold a special recognition for Chris Bamba (/) who would have also been completing his senior season. 
 
Here's the Deal: At 15-1 in league play, the Pioneers have secured their second-straight regular season title to secure home court advantage in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The semifinals will take place on Miga Court on Friday, February 24 with the championship following the next day on Saturday, February 25. Game times are TBD. With a first round bye, Utica will await the winner of the four/five matchup on Tuesday, February 21. 
 
History on the Horizon: The team finds itself knocking on the doorstep of some program milestones. With one more league win, Utica will set a new single-season program record with its 16th, surpassing the 2021-22 team that had 15 Empire 8 wins. Looking ahead, if the Pioneers win their final two regular season games as well as both playoff games the team will set a new single-season wins mark with 24, overtaking the previous mark of 23 set by the 2021-22 and 2005-06 teams. 
 
By the Numbers: Utica will go into the final weekend of regular season play third in the E8 in points per game (79.2) and points allowed per game (67.9). The team boasts five top-25 scorers in the conference in Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) (16.8 PPG), Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) (14.3 PPG), Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) (12.3 PPG) and Empire 8 Rookie of the year candidate, Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) (10.9). Much of this is thanks to the team's second-ranked field goal percentage and third-ranked three-point percentage. As has been the case all season, the Pioneers continue to do a great job of protecting the ball as the team is tied for 18th in the country committing just 10.8 turnovers per game. 
 
Up the Ladder: Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian), Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) continue to climb the all-time program ranks across the board. For Hopkins, he moved into fourth on the all-time scoring list as he is now at 1,374 over his 111 games played. Hopkins, along with Coston, are tied with one another with 11 games played with the all-time record of 116 by Kobe Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) looms. Speaking of Coston, the graduate student is 11 points away from reaching 900 for his career. He's also 15 rebounds away from cracking the top-15 all-time in program history. As for Morreale, the true senior is fresh off of his 1,000th career point and has since put himself 18 points away from entering the top-10 all-time as he sits at 1,108. With 469 career rebounds, Morreale is also 13th all-time in program history as he nears becoming the fifth ever player in program history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. 
 
About Medaille: The Mavericks enter the final weekend of play 8-15 overall and 6-10 in league play. Medaille currently holds the sixth and final Empire 8 Tournament spot and will be coming to Utica with a purpose as the team can clinch a postseason berth with two wins, one Elmira loss and one win and at least one Hartwick loss. The team's offense ranks last in the E8 averaging 66.5 points per game however, its defense is within the top-five in the league allowing 74.9 per game. Daunte Wilcott is the lone Maverick averaging double-digit points this season with 13.8 per game. Jorarei Bile is second on the team and top-25 in the E8 averaging 9.8 per game. The teams last met on January 21 at Medaille which the Pioneers walked away from with a 77-59 win.
 
Scouting Houghton: The Highlanders open the week 5-18 overall and 4-12 in E8 play. The team will travel to play Keuka on Friday prior to facing Utica on Saturday. Much like Medaille, Houghton will still be playing for a playoff berth this weekend as the team needs to defeat both Keuka and Utica, have Medaille lose to both Utica and Keuka and Elmira must lose to Alfred. Houghton is currently the seventh-ranked offense in the conference averaging 70.6 points per game while its defense is last in the league giving up 80 points per game. Four players handle the bulk of the team's scoring in Jajuan Preaster (17.4 PPG), Esafe Taufahema (14.1 PPG), David Rosa (13.7 PPG) and Luke Cole (9.3 PPG). The Pioneers have now won 12 straight games against Houghton including the most recent meeting on January 20 with an 83-70 win. 

Up Next: The Pioneers will await its opponent for its Empire 8 Semifinal matchup on Friday, February 24. Game time is TBD.