By: Utica College Athletics
HOUGHTON, NY - The Utica College men's basketball team topped the Houghton Highlanders in its first matchup of a two-game weekend road trip by a final score of 80-73 Friday night.
Freshman forward Thomas Morreale came up big for the Pioneers all night, finishing with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field while adding seven rebounds. The 6-foot-5 forward fell just short of his single-game career-high of 31 points against Sage on Jan. 7.
This game was as back and forth as it could get. Each team traded baskets for the first half, and the first 13 minutes of the second half held the same script. The first separation for Utica came when the team scored six unanswered points to break a 61-61 tie and take a 67-61 advantage that it would hold and build on for the rest of the game.
Sophomore guard Darius Hopkins was the second-leading scorer for UC in this contest, posting 12 points in addition to dishing out a team-high four assists.
Junior guard Kobe Lufkin finished right behind Hopkins with 12 points of his own. Sophomore guard Chris Green, who pored in a career-high 13 points in his last game, continued his success as of late, adding eight points in the winning effort.
Freshman point guard Brett Talbert was lights out from the charity stripe, finishing the night shooting 6-of-6 on his free throws en route to matching Green with eight points.
Junior center Kimedrick Murphy continued his dominance in the paint, grabbing a game-high 10 boards. He also added six points as well.
The Pioneers return to action in a road matchup tomorrow against the Alfred Saxons. Tipoff is slated for a 2 p.m. start.