UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team is set to host Hartwick College on Tuesday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Houghton University on Saturday, January 27 at 4 p.m. in its Breast Cancer Awareness Game.
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend either game can tune in for live video and/or stats here.
 
Last Time Out: The team remained flawless in conference play topping Alfred University 70-67 last Saturday evening. Utica shot a calm 17-for-20 from the free throw line and was attacking the paint all afternoon with a strong 48 points in the paint. Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) led Utica with 18 points including going a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. Thompson also corralled four rebounds and dished out five assists during the contest. Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) shined once again pouring in 15 points on an impressive 7-for-9 shooting. Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) each scored 12 points and brought in at least three boards with Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) adding nine points including some clutch free throws late in the game. Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) did it all per usual scoring four points with three rebounds and two assists. The Pioneers started the game off with a bang as Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) slammed home a dunk for a quick 2-0 lead. Call and Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) each scored a bucket to put Utica up 6-0 yet Alfred's offense started to come alive and took a slim 10-8 edge at the 14:36 mark. However, a Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) layup gave the Pioneers a 14-12 lead. The teams kept exchanging brief leads before Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) turned in a few strong possessions with five points including an and-one to give the Pioneers a 24-18 advantage. Alfred remained resilient, matching buckets with Utica but the Pioneers offense prevailed using a strong run at the end of the first half to take a 38-32 lead into the break. The Saxons came out firing and cut the Utica lead to just 38-36 just over two minutes into the second half. Alfred remained hot on offense and took a brief 41-40 lead at the 14:58 mark after converting a few layups in a row. Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) canned a jumper to retake a brief Utica lead but the Saxons continued to get to the basket and hit their free throws and grasped a slim 47-44 advantage at the 11:57 mark of the second half. A Brantley jumper cut the lead to one, yet Alfred quickly responded with a jumper of its own. Utica started to attack the paint and get to the free throw line as Brantley and Thompson each went 2-for-2 from the line to take a 50-49 edge at the 9:25 mark. Thompson continued driving and cashed another pair or free throws to extend the lead to 52-49. Layups by Foley and Thompson further increased the Pioneers advantage to 56-49 and forced an Alfred timeout at the 7:06 mark. Buckets by Thompson, Foley and Bourgault pushed the team's lead to 62-54 with just under four minutes left in regulation. Alfred cut into the lead knocking down a pair of free throws yet the Pioneers offense continued to score at will with a Thompson and-one pushing the lead to 65-56 with 3:10 left to play. Alfred would not go down easy as the team put together a small scoring run and trailed just 65-61 with 39 seconds to play. However, the Pioneers would knock down their free throws and hang on for a 70-67 Empire 8 road victory.
 
Top Dogs: The team remains atop the Empire 8 standings boasting a perfect 6-0 conference record and 13-2 overall record. The team topped Alfred University 70-67 in its last match on Saturday, January 20. Utica remains among the top of the conference in plenty of categories such as points per game, points allowed per game, winning margin, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, and turnover margin. 
 
Call That an Impressive Week: Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) turned in a solid week that guided the team to a perfect 3-0 week in conference play and earned him E8 Co-Player of the Week honors. Over the course of the week he dropped 48 points, 22 rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and two steals. His best performance came against Elmira where he recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds while being a pesky defender with two blocks and two steals.
 
Hay Now: Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) has started to heat up recently pouring in 15 points in two of his last three outings. Foley has been money from beyond the arc going 5-for-7 this past week and has been unconscious from beyond the arc this season going 17-for-27 which translates to a gaudy 63 percent clip. The junior's 9.5 points per game rank fourth on the squad and he has also been effective on defense with 10 steals and three blocks.
 
Sharing the Love: The Pioneers have spread the ball all season long with Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill), Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy), and Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) all averaging double-digit points per game this season. This past week the trend continued with four players scoring double-digit points in all three Empire 8 matchups. Aside from Brantley, Thompson, and Call, Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy), Liam Teague (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland), Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute), and Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian) all each registered one game reaching double figures. 
 
Looking at Hartwick: The Hawks are 1-13 this season and 0-7 in Empire 8 play which has them ninth in the conference. The team fell in its last outing to Russell Sage College 76-56 on Wednesday, January 17. Daniel Oyedrian is the team's top scorer averaging 12.7 points per game with Jaden Carter also being a top scorer on the Hawks averaging 8.6 points per game. The trio of Carter, Kevin Felasco, and Shea Barber have all made at least 11 three-pointers this season and help stretch the floor. Henry Perkins and Cooper Francis are two strong rebounders with each averaging at least 5.3 per game paired with at least 5.9 points per game.
 
Highlanders Preview: Houghton is 5-11 and 3-4 so far in Empire 8 play which has them sixth in the conference. The team topped Russell Sage College 83-68 in its last outing on Saturday, January 20. The team will clash with Nazareth and Keuka before facing Utica on Saturday, January 27. Jajuan Preaster is the conference's third leading scorer averaging 19.5 points per game and is also shooting .323 percent from beyond the arc. Preston Thomas is another fine scorer averaging 16.3 points per game which ranks fifth in the conference while also being one of the top three-point shooters in the conference with 46 three-pointers made this season while shooting at a .354 percent clip. David Rosa and Aaron Johnson are two more reliable scoring options with each averaging more than 10.3 points per game and being two solid defenders with each amassing more than 13 steals and eight blocks.
 
Up Next: The team will host Nazareth University on Tuesday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m.