UTICA, NY - Pioneer men's basketball had quite a day on Friday night against the Hartwick Hawks. By day, of course, we mean Pioneer star Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy), who put on a show stopping performance during a crucial Empire 8 clash to begin the weekend. In front of a hearty home crowd, the Junior guard went out and managed to cement a signature showing, racking up a career-high 34 points and hitting a jaw-dropping three pointer to narrowly beat the buzzer in overtime and give the Pioneers a huge conference win.
 
Thompson was the man of the hour, becoming a beacon of offensive excellence whenever Utica was in search of a big bucket. Numerous times throughout the night, the Pioneers turned to Thompson to end a drought or begin a run against the Hawks, and more often than not, the night's star player delivered. Thompson finished with 34 points, netting 14 in the first half, 11 in the second half, and an important seven points in overtime including his game winner that ripped the cord from way downtown, putting the Pioneers up for good at 86-83. The Junior served up scores from everywhere on the court, shooting 5-for-9 from inside the arc and an efficient 6-for-9 from three-point land. Thompson capped off his shooting showcase by going a perfect 6-for-6 to round out his emphatic effort.
 
Thompson's tally of 34 points matched Hagen Foley's (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) scoring total from earlier in the season at Fisher for the Pioneers highest recording scoring output of the season. Both players got their career-high from their 34-point performances.
 
While it wasn't 30, Foley was still a massive impact tonight, with both him and the dynamic Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) getting 17 points each to slot in as the Pioneers' second and third options respectively.
 
Foley hit a trio of three pointers, also adding six rebounds and three steals to his Friday outing. The athletic wing followed a trend of great shooting that the hosts adopted during the evening, going 7-for-12 from the field.
 
Call completed the Pioneers' three-headed monster on offense, using his versatile skill set to solve the Hawks' alternating man and 1-3-1 zone defensive looks. Call collected 17 points of his own, hitting six shots at varying difficulties within the paint and nailing 5 of 6 free throws.
 
Thompson, Foley, and Call combined for 68 of the Pioneers' 86 points, with the three combined for shooting splits of 24-for-41 from the field (59%) and 11-for-12 from the charity stripe (92%).
 
The Pioneers as a team shot 31-for-60 from the field (52%) in what was one of their better shooting nights of the season.
 
Utica hopped out to a solid opening lead, seeing Hartwick eventually trim their advantage down to just one at halftime, taking a 38-37 advantage into the break.
 
The second half was a thing of basketball beauty, as both teams battled back and forth with the lead never leaning more than seven points in either direction. Utica created a seven-point gap twice in the final 20 minutes of regulation, however Hartwick would hammer the post and manage to knot up the contest as the second half buzzer sounded.
 
In an overwhelmingly important extra period, the Pioneers and Hawks went blow-for-blow, with each team finding an adequate answer to keep the game within two scores for the duration of overtime. The Hawks erased a four-point Pioneer lead with seconds remaining, setting the stage for a stunning finale.
 
Thompson, who had been the main man all night, held the ball up top with the game tied up and just seconds remaining. Some Hartwick pressure forced him to give it up to Foley in the corner, however Thompson took an outstanding route to create some distance between himself and his defender, receiving a short pass from Foley and landing a difficult moving dagger from deep to dredge out a Pioneer win. Hartwick was left with .6 seconds, and their ensuing inbounds pass was stolen, sealing the night in the Pioneers' favor.