Utica Rallies in the Second Half; Ithaca, Nazareth and Stevens Post Wins
Utica 86, Houghton 81
The Utica College men's basketball team used a 17-2 run in a span of 3:45 midway through the second half to rally for an 86-81 victory over visiting Houghton College on Friday night.
Utica (10-13, 6-6 Empire 8) currently sits in fifth place in the conference behind Nazareth (6-5) and St. John Fisher (7-4). Houghton's 23 game losing streak continues as they have yet to win a contest this season.
Houghton opened up a 12-6 lead in the first 3:54 of the game and the Pioneers responded on a 15-8 run in the next 6:18 of the contest to steal the lead back, 21-20, with 9:34 left in the first half of play. UC pushed its lead to as many as six points, 38-32, with 2:29 left in the first half before the Highlanders closed out the first half on an 11-6 run in a span of 3:06 to earn a slight 39-38 lead as the halftime horn sounded.
Houghton used small bursts in the first seven minutes of the second half to earn its largest lead of the game, 59-52, with 12:48 left in regulation. But that lead would not hold as the Pioneers answered with their 17-2 run to take a 69-61 lead with 8:48 left in the contest.
An 11-4 run late in the game by the Highlanders put a scare in the Pioneers, who led by just two points, 81-79, with 25 seconds left. However, the Pioneers were able to net five free throws in the final 20 seconds to hang on for the victory.
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Ithaca 76, Hartwick 70
The Ithaca College men's basketball team (15-6, 9-2 Empire 8) claimed a 76-70 victory over Empire 8 opponent Hartwick (11-11, 3-8 Empire 8) on Friday night.
The opening 20 minutes featured six lead changes, though the Bombers scored the first 11 points of the second stint to secure an indefinite lead. Hartwick pulled within two at the 10-minute mark, but Ithaca remained a step ahead. The Bombers held a 72-63 gap with 62 ticks on the clock, but the Hawks surged to pull within four at the 17-second mark. Senior Eli Maravich went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to seal the victory for the Blue & Gold.
Ithaca shot a solid 57.1 percent from the floor, while the Hawks converted 48.3 percent of their shots. Hartwick held a 28-27 edge in rebounds. Ithaca hit nine threes during the contest.
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Nazareth 85, Alfred 76
Junior Jack Giles scored a career-high 21 points with six three-point baskets Friday as Nazareth won its third straight men's basketball game with an 85-76 victory over host Alfred.
The victory avenged an earlier defeat and enabled the Golden Flyers to improve to 14-8 overall and 6-5 in the Empire 8 Conference. Nazareth is a half game ahead of Utica for fourth place in the conference standings.
Nazareth built a 12-point lead by halftime and never trailed after that, but Alfred used a late surge to close to within two points, 72-70, on a free throw by Jason Ruback with 3:43 left.
Nazareth pulled away by scoring the next seven points to push the lead to 79-70 and take final control.
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Stevens 59, Elmira 46
The 25th-ranked Stevens Institute of technology men's basketball team improved to 19-3 overall and 9-2 in the Empire 8 with a 59-46 win over Elmira College Friday night. The Ducks used a big run to start the second half to put the game away.
With the score showing 24-15 after one, the Ducks came out and put the game away with a furious run to start the second period. Stevens outscored Elmira 19-3 over the first 9:52 to open a 26-point lead and completely push the game out reach.
The Ducks shot 45.7 percent from the field, 7-for-16 from three and 10-for-13 at the line. They finished the game with a 42-36 edge on the glass, six blocks and seven steals.
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