UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team is set for another week of Empire 8 play traveling to face St. John Fisher University on Tuesday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. The team will then stay on the road to face Keuka College on Saturday, February 10 at 4 p.m. before hosting the Wolves on Monday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. in a makeup game from January 13.
 
Follow Along: Fisher will provide live video here and live stats here for Tuesday's game. Keuka will provide live video and/or stats here for Saturday's clash. Those unable to attend Monday's home game can tune in for live video and/or stats here.
 
Last Time Out: Backed by another strong outing by Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill), the team topped the Russell Sage College Gators 65-49 on the road on Saturday afternoon. Following his career-high 34 point performance on Friday, Brantley turned in a 23 point, 10 rebound double-double on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor and 4-for-5 from deep. Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) provided 14 points (6-13 FG) and six boards while Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) and Liam Teague (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) had seven points each. The Pioneers started off as hot as a team could get, taking a strong 12-0 lead over the first five minutes of play with buckets by Griffin Barasa (Clearwater, FL/Calvary Christian), Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) and Call. However, over a six minute span the Gators slowly chipped away with a 15-3 run to knot things up at 15 all by the 9:25 mark in the first. Between the eight- and seven-minute marks of the first, Call willed the team back into the lead with four points over the minute span before Sage ultimately fought its way into its first lead of the day at 201-9 with six minutes remaining. The remaining time in the first continued to be a dog fight with the Pioneers holding the slight 30-27 edge going into halftime. From that point onwards, it would be all Utica. The Pioneers' defense limited Sage to 32 percent shooting from the field throughout the second half while draining nearly 54 percent of their own shots from the floor. Brantley accounted for 17 of the team's 35 second half points and did so on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting from three and 6-for-8 shooting from the field. Utica never trailed in the second half and although the Gators got within one point with 14 minutes to play, the team pulled out by double digits just four minutes later and didn't look back en route to its 10th E8 win of the year.
 
Almost That Time: The team currently sits in second place in the Empire 8 standings with a 17-3 record and 10-1 Empire 8 record. Utica looks to keep its dominance in Empire 8 play going down the stretch and lock up a top spot in the Empire 8 Postseason Tournament which the team clinched this past weekend. Utica remains atop the conference in field goal percentage, three point percentage, free throw percentage, and turnover margin which has played a major role in the team's dominant season thus far.
 
One for the Ages: Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) turned in an incredible week dropping more than 23 points and five boards in two outings and leading the team to two crucial Empire 8 victories. The graduate student poured in a career-high 34 points on 11-for-19 from the field with five boards and three assists with one steal against Hartwick. He followed this up with a double-double against Sage with 23 points, 10 rebounds, two rebounds and one steal to cap off a stellar week.
 
Call Me a Scorer: Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) wrapped up another strong week that was highlighted by his career-high 30 points and nine rebounds with two assists against Nazareth on Tuesday, January 30. He followed this up, combining for 20 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks over the next two games and played a large part in the team collecting back-to-back Empire 8 victories. 
 
Scouting Fisher: The Cardinals are 15-7 and sport an 11-2 Empire 8 record which has the team in third place in the conference standings. Fisher has clinched an Empire 8 Postseason Tournament berth and will most likely be one of the top seeds. The team topped Alfred University 90-79 in its last outing on Saturday, February 3. Fisher is led by Daniel Cook who is the conference's leading scorer averaging 20.4 points per game along with 9.1 rebounds per game which ranks second in the Empire 8. Brendan McRoy, Jack Foley, and Connor Recore are three more fine scoring options with each averaging at least 9.8 points per game. Foley is one of the conference's top perimeter threats with 48 three-pointers made this season and a .440 three-point percentage. Cook's 36 blocks are 15 more than anyone else in the conference and his 46 steals rank second.
 
Keuka Outlook: The Wolves are 9-9 this season with a 7-4 Empire 8 record which has them fourth in the conference standings. The team dominated Hartwick 97-72 in its last outing on Saturday, February 3. The team will clash with Nazareth University before meeting with Utica. The Wolves are led by the dynamic duo of Devin Milton and Christian Sage who each average at least 16.3 points per game while shooting at least 33 percent from beyond the arc. Mason VanDeMortel is another fine scoring option averaging 9.8 points per game and being one of the conference's top three-point shooters with 43 made triples this season. Milton and Sage are two good defenders with each swiping at least 28 steals with VanDeMortel and Jaden Keasey leading the team with 14 blocks. 
 
Up Next: The team will return home and host Alfred University on Friday, February 16 at 7:30 p.m. before closing out its regular season on Senior Day against Elmira College at 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 17.