MARCY, NY - The Pioneers trekked across the thruway today to take on the SUNY Poly Wildcats in a men's basketball matchup featuring two of the Empire 8's title contenders. Entering the game, both sides were jockeying for position near the top of the Empire 8 standings, with the winner placing themselves in pole position to secure a semifinal home game should they reach that stage of the tournament. In the heavyweight matchup, it was a pair of Pioneer big men who pushed the playoff-bound team to victory over their crosstown rival. Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Liam Teague (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) pilfered the paint against Poly, owning the lane all game long as they put up a combined 40 points in the victory.
 
Call was dominant as always for the Pioneers against their Empire 8 counterpart, notching a double-double with his 21 points and 11 rebounds. The local product was also efficient in the effort, shooting 8-13 from the field and knocking in five free throws on six opportunities from the stripe. Call was versatile with the ball, blowing by defenders for some athletic finishes while also scoring with his back to the basket. He was complimented perfectly by his cohort Teague, who had an amazing game in his own right.
 
Teague tallied a season-high 19 points against the Wildcats, also grabbing six rebounds to create an indomitable one-two punch in the paint alongside Call. Teague put his bag on full display in the matchup, pulling out a variety of dribble moves and spins to create separation in the midrange. The Pioneer forward also hit his only three point attempt of the evening, producing a three-level performance that put the Pioneers over Poly.
 
Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) finished with 16 points to round out a spectacular scoring trio for the team, racking up scores in the second half to provide the knockout punch for the Empire 8 powerhouse over their newfound conference rival.
 
The Pioneers as a whole blew away their opposition from the inside in the contest, scoring 46 points in the paint compared to just 32 by the Wildcats. They ran the pick and roll to perfection early on, making the right decision on each set with Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) and Devon Flynn (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) also running the play to its peak performance and creating some awesome open looks. As the Wildcats began to sniff out their initial pick-and-roll game, the Pioneers adjusted their looks and attempted to create some advantageous matchups through constant movement. The team managed to find their preferred options, with Teague, Call, and Foley exploiting their primary defenders on multiple occasions.
 
On the defensive end, the Pioneers presented an aggressive man look, trying to get the Wildcats to select bad shots and attempting to secure rebounds using their superior strength down low. The tactic worked well as the Wildcats, despite shooting over 50% from the floor and 45% from three, were only afforded five second-chance opportunities. The Pioneers allowing just five offensive rebounds was paramount in the execution of their gameplan, as the lack of second chance looks caused Poly to miss out on lots of points that could have been generated thanks to their hot shooting.
 
Near the end of the game, the Pioneers also forced many clutch turnovers, costing Poly many prime opportunities to make a late game run. In a game that was back and forth for nearly the entire night, these key defensive stands allowed Utica to pull away late and ultimately secure a big 80-72 win.
 
The Pioneers improved to 17-7 with the win, also advancing to 11-4 in conference play. The team currently holds the number 2 seed in the conference tournament, a spot they could officially clinch tomorrow with a win over Keuka. Tune in tomorrow to see if the team can secure their spot as the conference's second-best regular season squad!