UTICA, NY - For a second consecutive season, the Utica University men's basketball team will host the Empire 8 Conference Tournament this weekend. The top-seeded Pioneers will host the fourth-seeded St. John Fisher Cardinals at 5:30 p.m. on Friday in the first semifinal followed by the second-seeded Nazareth College Golden Flyers taking on the third-seeded Alfred University Saxons at 7:30 p.m. The two semifinal winners will then meet at 3 p.m. on Saturday to decide the 2022-23 Empire 8 champion. 
 
Follow Along: Fans unable to attend can keep up with all three games with live video and stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: The team celebrated its seniors with a proper regular season finale this afternoon. The Pioneers defeated the visiting Houghton College Highlanders 77-55 to secure another 22-win season and enter postseason play on a four-game winning streak. Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) led the team with 15 points each, Morreale doing so to pair with his three rebounds and steals while Brantley tallied six rebounds, two assists and two steals as well. Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley), 14 points, and Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian), 13 points, finished in double-figures also. Coston knocked down three of six three-pointers taken and collected eight boards and a pair of blocks. The Pioneers went wire-to-wire in the game as the closest Houghton got was tying the game at 6-6 early in the first. Brantley and Morreale started red-hot before Coston scored six in a row for a 12-6 Utica lead. After a pair of buckets by Brantley, Coston drained back-to-back threes to extend the team's lead to 22-11. The Highlanders didn't back down easily though as the team went from down by 11 to down by five with under eight minutes to go in the first. Although the Pioneers jumped back out by 12, the game eventually entered halftime with Utica hanging on to a three point lead at 33-30. However, Utica came out firing in the second half. A quick 10-0 run was fueled by five Brantley points, a three-pointer by Morreale and a free throws by Hopkins for a 43-30 advantage. This time around the Pioneers denied Houghton of any chance to climb back into the game to go on and take the regular season finale by 22 points. 
 
Getting in: Tickets are set at $6 general admission (children under 12 are free) and $4 for students and seniors with ID.  All tickets will be available at the gate the day of the game 1 hour prior to tip-off. No complimentary tickets will be allowed for this event. Please be advised that artificial noisemakers are not permitted at any Empire 8 Tournament game. 
 
T-Shirt Sales: 2023 Empire 8 Tournament t-shirts will be available for purchase at each of the three games and can be found in the main lobby of the Clark Athletic Center. 
 
Tournament History: The Pioneers enter the 2022-23 postseason with a 7-10 record in tournament play. Recent history has been on Utica's side as the team has gone to back-to-back championship games including capturing the program's first-ever title in the 2020-21 season. 
 
Revenge Tour: Same script, new season. The Pioneers enter the Empire 8 Tournament as the top-seed after winning their second-straight regular season title. Last season's team rolled into the tournament with the same overall record (22-3) as the team is this season. Looking ahead, Utica may very well get to avenge its one point championship loss to Nazareth as the Golden Flyers enter the field as the second-seed just as they did last year. 
 
Best of the Best: Five members of the Utica University men's basketball program have been selected to Empire 8 All-Conference teams. Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) earned his first career all-conference nod after being named to the E8 first team after shining in his senior season. He led the team and was fifth in the Empire 8 averaging 16.5 points per game. He was also the team leader in rebounds averaging 7.8 rebounds per game, placing sixth in the Empire 8. Brantley placed top-15 in the conference in steals with 1.3 per game while dishing out two assists per contest. Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) joins Brantley as first team selections from Utica with Hopkins receiving his fourth all-conference bid after being named Defensive Year of the Year and earning second team honors last season. Hopkins had a great year from behind the arc, making 36 three-point field goals on a 37.1 three-point percentage which led the team. He also averaged 12.2 points per game while guarding the opponents top players in 24 outings.Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) earned his fourth all-conference nod, receiving second team honors in the Empire 8 after being a first team member in 2021-22 last season. Offensively, Morreale posted 14 points per game on an efficient 51.4 field goal percentage while placing ninth in Empire 8 and being the team leader in offensive rebounds with 47. He recorded 33 blocks, ranking third in the conference, and 27 steals on the defensive end. Head Coach Sean Coffey and his staff Tim Borza, Luke Fredsell and Richard Coffey received the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year award for a second consecutive season. Coffey and his staff helped lead the team to another 22-3 regular season record, a program best 17-1 record in conference play, and a second-straight Empire 8 regular season title. Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) was the team's recipient of the Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year honor. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
 
Coming in Hot: Utica aims to win its second Empire 8 title in the last three seasons. The Pioneers enter the tournament with a 22-3 overall record and set an Empire 8 men's basketball record by winning 17 league games this season. The Pioneers are out-scoring opponents by 11 points per contest. Four players are averaging in double figures, while the Pioneers are shooting 45 percent from the floor as a team. Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) is enjoying a tremendous season for the Pioneers, with a team-best 16.2 points per game, which is also fifth in the league. He is also sixth in the E8 in rebounding, averaging 7.8 boards per game and leads the team in assists. Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), the 2019-20 E8 Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Empire 8 first team selection, is averaging 14.0 points and 5.8 boards per game, while shooting 51.4 percent from the field. Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian), a three-time All-Empire 8 selection, is averaging 12.2 points per game, while first-year standout Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) is averaging 10.6 points per game. Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley), Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) and Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) have all been crucial contributors for a deep Pioneers team. Barasa and Coston are both elite defenders who are tied for second on the team in assists, while Call is shooting 57 percent from the field off the bench.
 
The Field: The 2021-22 Empire 8 champion Nazareth College Golden Flyers enter the tournament as the second seed for a second consecutive season after going 20-5 overall and 14-4 in league play. The team is outscoring its opponents by an average of 16 points per game in 2022-23 and are shooting 46 percent from the floor as a team. Graduate student Jonathan Park, a three-time All-Empire 8 selection, leads the league in field goal percentage (57.8 percent), rebounds (12.6 per game) and blocked shots (2.4 per game), while leading the team in scoring (13.7 points per game). First-year standout Jaylen Savage is averaging 13.3 points, while shooting 45 percent from the floor. The Alfred Saxons enter the tournament as the third seed going 20-6 overall and 14-4 in conference play. They surrendered only 64.3 points per game while ranking second in the conference averaging 9.4 made threes per game. Graduate student Brewster Marshall has made individual history scoring 1,000 points and collecting 650 rebounds in his collegiate career. He's averaging 16.4 points per game along with leading the team in boards with eight per game. Senior Mike Schmidt leads the conference dishing out 5.7 assists per game along with 822 minutes played in 26 games, which is most in the Empire 8. He also leads the team with a .703 percentage from the charity stripe. Casey Curran is another key contributor grabbing 5.3 rebounds per game and while averaging eight points per game. The St. John Fisher Cardinals enter the semifinals as the fourth seed following a convincing win over Hartwick in the opening round and are currently 19-7 overall and 15-4 in league play. The Cardinals enter as the top scoring offense averaging 82.8 points per game and ranking first in team field goal percentage 789 and steals with 250. Three-time Empire 8 Player of the year Daniel Cook has been phenomenal this season and is second in the conference in scoring and rebounding averaging 18.5 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game. Cook has been a prolific scorer scoring double figure in 24 of 26 games this season and recording seven double-doubles. Ryan Gentile averages 9.5 points per game and is the team's top sharpshooter shooting an incredible .469 form beyond the arc with 46 made three pointers this season. Gentile has dropped double figure scoring in five of the last six games including dropping 28 points against Hartwick in the team's season finale going an amazing 7-for-9 from beyond the arc. Jack Foley and Connor Recore are two more viable threats averaging at least 7.7 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game.  

Up Next: The semifinal winners will meet at 3 p.m. on Miga Court on Saturday to play for the E8 crown. The conference champion will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament.