UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team is headed back to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament for the third straight season. The team is set to travel to Montclair, NJ to take on the Montclair State University Red Hawks in the first round of the tournament on Friday, March 7. Tip off is slated for 6pm. 
 
Follow Along: For those unable to attend, live video can be found here and live stats can be found here. 
 
Ticket Information: All tickets will be sold at the door of the venue and must be paid for in cash (There will be no online ticketing or credit cards accepted).
 
Pricing for Friday, March 7 (Game one- Western New England vs. Hamilton- 3:15 p.m.
Game two- Utica vs. Montclair State- 6:00 p.m.)
General Admission- $10
Children/Senior Citizens- $5
 
Pricing for Saturday, March 8 (Winner of game one vs. winner of game two- 5:45 p.m.)
General Admission- $15
Children/Senior Citizens - $5
 
Any tickets purchased are only valid for the single game that they were purchased for. If a spectator wishes to stick around for both games on Friday, they will have to purchase another ticket for the second game.
 
How We Got Here: The Pioneers clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after defeating the SUNY Poly Wildcats in the Empire 8 Conference Championship last weekend. Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) had a big night, he scored 18 points and registered 3 rebounds. His scoring was dynamic as he was able to finish several contested shots throughout the night. Liam Teague (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) was also a key factor, scoring 18 points and logging a staggering eight rebounds. Teague didn't just score; he also was a driving force defensively with four blocks on the night. Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) also had himself an 18-point game, shooting 50 percent from the field and hitting two three-point shots. As a team, the Pioneers shot 53 percent from the field, compared to the Wildcats 44 percent. Utica also had Poly beat in rebounds, grabbing a total of 38 boards.
 
Conference Tournament Standouts: Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Liam Teague (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) were named to the Empire 8 All-Tournament team, announced by the league on Tuesday. Call averaged 13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 59.3 percent from the floor (16-of-27) in three of postseason contests. He scored 15 points to go along with 10 boards and five assists in Utica's E8 quarterfinal win on Feb. 22 over No. 7 seed Houghton University. On Feb. 26, Call did it all with 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven points in the 85-79 win over No. 3 Nazareth in the Empire 8 Semifinal In Saturday's championship game, Call scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half, leading the Pioneers to an 89-76 win over No. 4 SUNY Poly in a battle of Utica institutions to claim the E8 title. Teague joined Call on the All-Tournament Team after averaging 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in the three wins, while shooting 57.5 percent from the field (23-of-40) in just 60 minutes of play. Teague had 22 points and nine boards in the semifinal win over Nazareth, while scoring 18 points  to go along with eight rebounds and four blocks in the title game Saturday.
 
A Look at Montclair State: The Montclair State University Red Hawks enter the tournament courtesy of an automatic bid after winning the NJAC Championship over Ramapo College in an overtime bout, 91-85. The Red Hawks have posted a 21-6 overall record this season, and finished 14-4 in NJAC play. As a team, the Red Hawks have averaged over 85 points per game this season and have outscored opponents by over eight points per game. From the floor, Montclair State has shot 47.3 percent from the floor, while giving up just shy of 50 percent of attempts to opponents. From outside, the Red Hawks have shot over 37 percent this season. Compared to the Pioneers, Montclair State finds themselves in similar territory, with Utica shooting 47.4 percent from the floor as a team this season, and 38.4 percent from three. The Red Hawks have also given up more rebounds to opponents this season, as well as turnovers, with Montclair State averaging 15.1 turnovers per game, compared to the 11.1 turnovers per game by the Pioneers this season. Jacob Morales has been the team's leading scorer, averaging 19.7 points per game, with Mike Jackson trailing with 16.7 points per game. Morales has been dominant both inside and out, shooting 52 percent from the floor and 47.7 percent from outside the arc. Morales and Jackson are also the team's leading rebounders, averaging over 4.5 rebounds per game. Kieran Flanagan has been able to get the offense going, dishing out over 120 assists this season. Myles Primas has been a stout defender for the Red Hawks as well, rejecting 18 shots this season. 

Looking Ahead: With a win, the Pioneers would advance to the second round and take on the winner of Western New England/Hamilton at Montclair State. Tip off on Saturday, March 8 would be set for 5:45pm.