UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team is set to host Russell Sage College in an Empire 8 showdown on Friday, January 5 at 7:30 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend Friday's game can tune in for live video and/or stats here.
 
Last Time Out: The team topped the Connecticut College Camels 66-56 on December 30 to win the Utica University Classic. Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) was named Tournament MVP after averaging 15 points and nearly seven rebounds over the two games. The championship game served as the final non-conference contest of the season for the Pioneers as the team now enters its full slate of Empire 8 bouts. Utica was efficient from the field shooting 22-for-48 and 7-for-16 from beyond the arc. The team poured in 22 points in the paint while adding 13 second chance points. The Camels capitalized on the Pioneers' 13 turnovers with 21 points, accounting for 37.5 percent of their points. David Murray led the visitors with 18 points (8-11 FG) as well as with seven rebounds and a game high five blocks. Elias Espinosa contributed 10 points for Conn. College followed by nine from Billy Whelan. Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) fueled the win posting a double-double with 21 points (7-10 FG) and 11 rebounds while also adding two assists and two blocks to his line. Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) poured in a season-high 14 points with five rebounds, three assists, and one block. Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) added 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the contest. Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) did it all scoring eight points while corralling five rebounds and dishing out four dimes. It was a back-and-forth start to the contest with the game being tied 7-7 at the 16:39 mark. A Morreale and-one gave Utica a 10-7 edge, yet Connecticut would use a seven-point run to claim a 26-18 lead as the team was able to work the ball into the paint effectively. Utica responded with an incredible 15-0 run which was fueled by strong defense leading to transition buckets. Brantley was the catalyst with eight points during the stretch including two-straight triples to give Utica a 35-29 edge with just over 2 minutes remaining in the first half. Another Brantley three-pointer aided the team in taking a 38-31 advantage into the half. The Pioneers came out firing in the second half hitting three of their first four attempts as Thompson, Morreale, and Brantley each nailed jumpers to extend Utica's lead to 45-35 at the 16:23 mark. The Camels cut the lead to five trailing just 49-44 and then hit a triple to trail just 50-47 at the 9:04 mark. Yet, Utica used a four-point run to claim a 55-47 advantage and played phenomenal defense down the stretch to secure a 66-56 victory in the Utica University Classic Championship Game.
 
Breast Cancer Awareness Game: The team will host its annual breast cancer awareness game on Saturday, January 27 at 4 p.m. against Houghton University. The team will be selling snow hats at $18 with a portion of the proceeds going towards Real Men Wear Pink campaign. Please keep an eye out on the Utica University Pioneers social media accounts for pictures of the snow hats with the link to purchase being here. The online store will close on Sunday, January 14 at midnight.
 
Showing Out at the Classic: Ethan Rivers (Madison, NY/Madison Central) of the Utica University men's basketball team has been named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday. Rivers made the most of his floor time in Utica's win over Colby-Sawyer on Friday with seven points in seven minutes. Rivers shot effectively in doing so as he went 2-for-3 from the floor, 1-for-1 from three, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. 
 
Brantley Buckets Leads the Way: Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) was named the Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday. Brantley turned in a pair of clutch performances this past weekend to help lift Utica to the Utica Holiday Classic championship. Over his two outings, Brantley averaged 15 points per game on 63.1 percent shooting from the field (12-19 FG). He also had nearly seven rebounds per game to go with three total assists and steals. In Friday's semifinal against Colby-Sawyer, the graduate student dropped nine points to go with two rebounds, one assist and one steal in just 17 minutes of action. In Saturday's championship against Connecticut College he followed up with a 21 point, 11 rebound double-double where he shot 7-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-5 from deep. He was also named tournament MVP.
 
Lucky 7s: Graduate student Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is approaching program history in multiple categories and is only the second player in program history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks in a career (Ivan Iton being the other in 2018). His 1,245 points ranks seventh all-time and is just 111 away from becoming fifth all-time while ranking 43rd all-time in Empire 8 history. The Whitesboro, NY native is also seventh all-time in rebounds with 537 in his illustrious career and is 100 away from joining the top-five club. His 102 blocks rank fourth in program history and he continues to provide a defensive anchor for the unit.
 
1K Watch: Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) is approaching the 1,000 career point club and would be the 18th player in program history to do so. The graduate student currently sits at 890 points and is averaging 15 points per game which has him well above pace to reach the milestone and climb the all-time record books. Brantley has been a consistent scorer this season and his 15 points per game ranks ninth in the Empire 8 and has been a key part of the Utica offense.
 
Scouting the Gators: Sage is 6-4 this season and sports an 0-2 record in Empire 8 play thus far. The team topped Penn College in its last outing on Tuesday, January 2 77-64 to snap the team's three-game losing streak. Noah Girard is the team's top scorer averaging a fine 17.3 points per game which ranks fourth in the conference along with 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. Jackson Brown is another strong scorer averaging 12.9 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game. The trio of Todd Williamson, Deavion Springsteen, and Khalel Noteman are three more scoring options with each averaging over 6.6 points per game. Noteman is the team's top rebounder corralling 6.4 rebounds per game with Williamson, Girard, and Avery Oduro-Dompreh all being pesky defensive threats.

Up Next: The team will continue Empire 8 play traveling to face Nazareth University on Tuesday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m.