PITTSFORD, NY - Less than 24 hours after falling to their conference rival Nazareth, the Utica University men's basketball team searched for answers against another Rochester-based program in St. John Fisher. On a Saturday afternoon in Pittsford, they'd find just the answer they were looking for in Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy). Foley unleashed a flurry of scoring upon the Cardinals, amassing points in bunches and managing to rack up 34 before the contest came to a close. Foley's outburst, combined with double-figure scoring outings by Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy), Liam Teague (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland), Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), and Devon Flynn (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook), allowed the Pioneers to respond to every single punch thrown by their Empire 8 opposition in a back-and-forth affair that presented a playoff-like feel. A united offensive attack powered by some excellent transition play and free throw shooting saw the Pioneers come away with a key 95-89 win over Fisher, securing their first conference win of the year and picking up some momentum heading into the heart of the Empire 8 schedule.
 
Foley led all scorers with his aforementioned 34 points, a career-high for the spectacular senior. He achieved this feat in efficient fashion too, shooting 13-19 from the floor and 6-7 from the free throw line. Foley also accrued four assists to round out his impressive performance in Pittsford.
 
Thompson slotted in as the Pioneers' secondary scorer during Saturday's showdown, picking up 19 points and icing the game with four-straight clutch free throws during the final minute. Thompson was also disruptive on the defensive end, getting a team-high three steals.
 
Call fell just short of a double-double during the matchup, instead settling for a very solid 10 points and nine rebounds. He also registered as the Pioneers' premier playmaker during the action, getting a team-high six assists. The local product also energized the team with a thunderous dunk in the first half, providing an early highlight and sparking an 11-0 to get the Pioneers ahead.
 
The other starting forward for the Pioneers also had an excellent showing in his own right, with Teague shooting 3-for-4 from three-point land and punishing the Fisher defense for repeatedly giving him space behind the arc.
 
Flynn completed the trio of impactful forwards during Saturday's game, coming in as the Pioneers' last double-digit scorer. He used an excellent blend of speed and size to score 12 points, getting out in transition and blowing by defenders to notch his scoring total.
 
The Pioneers went toe-to-toe with Fisher all night, trading leads and momentum with the Cardinals but managing to ride their great shooting and physical play to a big road win. Utica shot great in Saturday's game, going 34-60 (56.7%) from the floor and a particularly efficient 9-16 (56.4%) from behind the arc. The orange and blue also shot great in their attempts from the free throw line, going 18-23 (78.3%) from the charity stripe. Utica was also very disruptive, winning the turnover battle 14-5 thanks to nine steals. Despite being in enemy territory, the visitors managed to weather the storm and endure a tumultuous tie that included 15 lead changes, coming out on top to end the weekend on a high note.
 
Game Summary: Both squads displayed some early shooting fatigue after battling hard in their respective Empire 8 contests from the night before, with the two teams each missing a pair of good looks to begin play on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Cardinals, despite engaging in an overtime affair with the other Utica-based side in SUNY Poly the night before, were able to shake off their drought first, recording the first four points in the matchup. The Pioneers were quick to respond though, with Call securing a tip in and Levi Spina (Frankfort, NY/Frankfort Schuyler) splashing a corner three to settle the Pioneers into the proceedings, now with an early 5-4 lead.
 
Teague and Foley continued the early run, taking advantage of Fisher's man defense by setting some solid screens to get free for a few outside shots. Four different players scored the first four baskets for the Pioneers, a great sign as they'd looked to get more scorers involved in the action as of late.
 
Fisher battled back to take a one-point lead at 13-12, however, the Cardinals' newfound momentum would fizzle out almost immediately as Call drove past his defender and dropped a thunderous dunk over two Fisher challengers, slamming down a two-handed hammer to slow the surging opposition.
 
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Call's monster jam sparked an 11-0 run for the Pioneers who led 23-13 at the midway mark of the first half.
 
The lead grew to twelve shortly thereafter, with Foley flying through the lane for a tough finish before flipping a fastball to Flynn on the next possession, giving the visitors their largest lead of the first half at 27-15.
 
Fisher began to chip away, causing some costly turnovers and managing to slim the deficit down to just two points with four minutes to play in the first half.
 
Now only leading 31-29, the Pioneers needed another push to create a comfortable cushion before the break.
 
The visitors did just that over the final few minutes of the first half, going on a 15-5 run to take a massive 46-36 halftime lead.
 
Fisher didn't allow the Pioneers to pull away at the onset of the second half though, as the Cardinals cut into Utica's lead thanks to a 7-0 run before most fans returned from their halftime activities. The Pioneers would need to adapt quickly to the Cardinals' scorching second half start as Utica utilized an excellent transition-based gameplan in the opening 20 minutes, something that would suffer if Fisher slowed down the game by continuing to make shots.
 
The Pioneers now led by only three at 46-43 only two minutes into the second half.
 
Fisher hit its first three opportunities from downtown in the second half, using their sharpshooting streak to sneak back into the contest.
 
Fisher's flurry from downtown saw them take their first lead since the beginning stages of the game at 49-48, putting the pressure firmly on the visitors to provide a response. The point man for the Pioneers was up for the task though, as Thompson began to assert himself more on the offensive end. The Junior hit a slick step back to put the Pioneers back up by one.
 
The back-and-forth battle began as the game moved into the heart of a crucial second half. Each side traded scores and the lead, with the gap not advancing beyond four points for either side as the clock ticked under 10 minutes.
 
The Cardinals cooled off a bit from deep, although they became much more active on the offensive glass, getting themselves an array of extra chances and second-chance points to power their offense.
 
On the other side, it was Foley who continued to score from a variety of different spots and angles, sticking as the game's leading scorer and contributing to the mass majority of the Pioneers' points over the middle part of the second half.
 
The Pioneers also found success from the free throw line in the latter part of the contest, substituting their first half transition tactics for a more rugged and aggressive style of offense in an attempt to get to the line more.
 
Tied at 60 with around 10 minutes left, each team continued to trade heavy blows.
 
Fisher's center sensation Conner Williams knocked in a free throw to make it 61-60, before Call carved out some space in the lane to hit a floater and regain the lead at 62-61. On the ensuing Fisher position, the hosts plucked three offensive rebounds away from the Pioneers before finally finding space on the block to overtake at 63-62. Smith tied it up on the Pioneers next try, getting one to go at the charity strip, making it 63-63. The combined scoring streak kept going on Fisher's turn, with the Cardinals making a free throw before getting yet another offensive rebound, turning the extra opportunity into a four-point trip thanks to a longshot from the wing. The Pioneers wouldn't be the first to blink though, as Flynn sped down the court and immediately scooped up a layup while getting fouled simultaneously. Flynn would convert the free throw to make it 67-66 Fisher. All of this action occurred during a string of consecutive scoring from both teams that lasted just under two minutes. The streak would come to an end with nine minutes remaining due to a Fisher miss.
 
Four more scoring plays occurred thereafter, with Thompson and Foley nailing floaters opposite two buckets in the paint from Williams and Joshua Lopez for Fisher. The track meet was stopped briefly as a timeout was called by the Cardinals in an effort to prepare for crunchtime.
 
The Pioneers' three-point specialist Foley gave them the lead at 73-71 coming out of the timeout, but consecutive turnovers hindered the visitors from expanding their advantage further.
 
Now with under six minutes left, Fisher tied the match at the line, making it 73-73. Foley continued to annoy the Cardinal defense though, sending up an incredible scoop shot to make it 75-73. A stop on defense gave the Pioneers a chance to really dig their feet in, as Thompson converted a tough take at the rim into an and-1, creating a 78-73 lead.
 
The 7-0 run ended on the next possession, as Fisher had their own multi-basket run to make it 78-77 Utica.
 
Teague hit a three to regain momentum, with Foley also capitalizing near the free throw line, ballooning the lead to 83-77. Fisher nailed a three from the wing to make it 83-80.
 
Now under three minutes, the feel of this matchup felt like one that might occur in the Empire 8 postseason tournament, and while it would be a while until the postseason, this game would almost certainly have playoff implications if both teams continued to battle like they had over the course of the conference season.
 
Foley's flurry continued uninhibited coming out of the timeout, as he scored his 34th point of the night to make it 85-80. Utica then achieved back-to-back huge stops against the Senior Williams, including Teague getting a rejection against the big fella to maintain their two-score cushion with under two minutes left. Teague got his bookends too, hitting a floater on the other end as the Pioneers began to taste victory up 87-80. With only free throws standing between the Pioneers and their first Empire 8 victory of the season, Thompson took charge and sank four-straight to send his squad to a massive victory over the Cardinals in Pittsford. A couple runout scores put this matchup in the books as Utica achieved a 95-89 win to cap off their weekend.