ELMIRA, NY - Following a slow start in the first half, the Utica University men's basketball team came out firing in the second to eclipse the Elmira College Soaring Eagles, 93-72, on the road on Friday night. 
 
Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) walked away with another double-double under his belt, this time in the form of a 19 point (8-13 FG, 3-4 3FG), 11 rebound performance. He also had a pair of blocks and two steals. Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) netted 17 points (8-12 FG) to go with seven boards while Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) (16 points, 4-7 FG, 8-9 FT) and Liam Teague (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) (10 points, 5-7 FG) finished in double figures. 
 
In a first half that revolved around inside play, Elmira held an advantage thanks to the 6-foot-9 Aidan Carnevale of the Soaring Eagles and the support of his guard play. 
 
With Elmira ahead 18-14 midway through the half, Owen Evans drained a three-pointer followed by a pair of jumpers to send the home team up by nine. 
 
Eventually down by 10 points with under seven minutes left before the half, Call, Thompson and Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) knocked down some crucial shots to cut the deficit to two points at 37-35 with just 30 seconds left. The Soaring Eagles would go on to take a three-point edge into the break. 
 
The extra time between halves paid off for the Pioneers as the team went on to drop 56 points on Elmira over the duration of the contest, 
 
Utica hit nearly 65 percent of its shots in the second half and, over the course of the first seven minutes, jumped out to a 12 point cushion in the second. In doing so, the team outscored Elmira by 15 points over the span and wouldn't stop there. 
 
Ethan Rivers (Madison, NY/Madison Central), Jayden Larregue (Croton on the Hudson, NY/Briarcliff) and Teague highlighted the second half as the trio helped turn a 13 point lead with nearly 12 minutes to go in the game, into a 27 point advantage with just over six minutes to play. 
 
The Pioneers continued to control the pace from there en route to a 21 point win. 
 
Utica (12-2, 5-0 Empire 8) will make the quick trip to Alfred University on Saturday, January 20. Tip-off against the Saxons is set for 4 p.m.