Men's Basketball | 4/11/2021 6:02:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY - After three chances against St. John Fisher in the past and four opportunities overall in the Empire 8 championship game, the No. 2 seed Utica College Pioneers men's basketball team secured its first ever Empire 8 championship in a 89-65 win at top-seeded Fisher on Sunday, April 11.
Thomas Morreale came out on fire in the opening minutes of the game to begin what would be an offensive clinic put on by the Pioneers. The sophomore scored UC's first nine points in the game by hitting three of the four 3-point shots he attempted early on.
After the Pioneers took a 10-9 lead just over four minutes into the game, the Fisher offense couldn't match Utica's consistency. Kobe Lufkin and Avery Coston hit several big shots in the first half while Justice Brantley also helped the Utica offense prevent Fisher from coming close to the lead. The Pioneers took a 44-35 lead into the locker room thanks to 55.5 percent shooting from the field while holding the Cardinals to 38.7 percent shooting. Both teams hit seven 3-pointers in the first half however, Fisher converted 17 3-pointers point shots to Utica's 13.
UC opened the second half on a 11-2 run to give them a 55-37 lead with just over 16 minutes to go in the game. The Cardinals were able to cut its deficit in half with 11 minutes left thanks to a pair of Ryan Gentile 3-pointers to make it a 57-48 game. Empire 8 Tournament Most Valuable Player Kimedrick Murphy made lay-ups on four consecutive possesions to swing the momentum back in Utica's favor, as the Pioneers went on a 9-1 run to put the game out of reach
Utica finished the second half shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from three as the defense held Fisher to 32.4 percent shooting from the field and 21.4 percent from three over the final 20 minutes. The only Cardinals lead in the game was 6-3 and came with 17:10 remaining in the first half as the Pioneers cruised along to its first ever conference title.
Five Pioneers recorded double figures in points. Morreale finished as Utica's leading scorer with 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field. Lufkin added 14 points, Coston recorded 12 while Darius Hopkins and Kimedrick Murphy had 11 a piece. Murphy was named tournament MVP after averaging 10 points and seven rebounds over UC's two tournament games.
Gentile and Brendan Trapper led St. John Fisher with 15 points apiece, Gentile hit five 3-pointetrs. The Cardinals finished with an undefeated 10-0 record in E8 regular season play and defeated Utica earlier in the regular season
UC previously lost to Fisher in the 2003-04, 2005-06 and 2006-07 Empire 8 championship games while also falling to Nazareth in the 2017-18 championship.
While there is no NCAA tournament for Division III basketball this season, Coach
Sean Coffey and the Pioneers will head into next season on a high note while nearly the entire team will have eligibility to return.