Men's Basketball | 2/25/2022 10:43:26 PM
Top-seeded Utica University and No. 2 Nazareth College advanced to the 2021-22 Empire 8 Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game after earning semifinal victories on Friday, February 25. Utica knocked off No. 4 seed Alfred University, 75-70, while the Golden Flyers outlasted No. 3 seed St. John Fisher College, 80-71. The 2022 Empire 8 Champion will earn an automatic berth into the upcoming NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.
NO. 1 UTICA 75, NO. 4 ALFRED 70
For the second year in a row, the Utica men's basketball team will be heading to the Empire 8 Championship game as the top-seeded Pioneers defeated fourth-seeded Alfred University 75-70.
Utica led by as many as nine points in the first half, but the Saxons battled back to bring the game within two at halftime. The Pioneers did not trail at all in the second half however, Alfred kept the game within single digits until a
Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) three-pointer with 5:13 left pushed the Utica lead to 11. By the time the Saxons were able to come back within six points, a pair of free throws by
Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) with 10 seconds remaining put the game out of reach for good to advance the Pioneers to the E8 championship.
The Pioneers were led by senior
Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) who netted 20 points, including 6-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe. Morreale netted 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting while also finishing as the team's second-leading rebounder with six boards.
Kimedrick Murphy (Hudson, NY/Hudson) grabbed 10 of Utica's 27 rebounds and also recorded seven points and three blocks in the win.
Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) also contributed 11 points.
With the win, Utica improves to 23-3 on the year, tying the program's single-season wins record set by the 2006 version of the Pioneers.
Adam Enders led Alfred with 23 points, as he hit five 3-pointers, while Mike Schmidt finished with 18 points and nine assists. The Saxons end their season with a 17-10 record.
NO. 2 NAZARETH 80, NO. 3 ST. JOHN FISHER 71
Stephen Gabel and
Jonathan Park each posted double-doubles for second-seeded Nazareth Friday to lead the Golden Flyers to an 80-71 triumph over St. John Fisher.
After splitting a pair of regular-season games with the Fisher, the Golden Flyers secured the rubber match to improve to 22-4 overall, Fisher dropped to 19-7. Nazareth will play top-seeded Utica in Saturday's championship game at 3 p.m. Utica defeated Alfred in the other semifinal game, 75-70. Nazareth and Utica split two regular-season games.
Nazareth led 42-39 at the half and outscored Fisher 38-32 in the second half. Gabel scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Park had 13 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Kevin Underwood added 14 points and
Zach Stenglein went 0-for-7 from the field, but went 13-for-14 from the free throw line to finish with 13 points, four assists and six steals.
Gabel scored 12 of his points in the first half and Park had 11 points and seven rebounds as the Golden Flyers recovered from an early deficit to take the halftime lead. Fisher was up 24-16 midway through the half before Nazareth scored nine straight points -- seven by Park -- to take a one-point lead. Stenglein helped the cause by making trips to the free throw line, where he sank 9 of 10 first-half attempts.
Fisher went on a mini scoring run to open the second half and had a one-point lead, 48-47, at the 16-mnute mark. Nazareth then scored 11 straight points, including a three-pointer by Gabel, to open a 10-point advantage, 58-48, and the Golden Flyers never trailed thereafter.
Nazareth's lead grew as large as 15 points, 68-53, after a basket and a pair of free throws by Gabel. Six straight points enabled Fisher to close within four points, 71-67, with four minutes left, but Nazareth closed out the Cardinals as Underwood scored six of his points down the stretch. Stenglein added his final two free throws with :23 left as Nazareth ran out the clock.
Nazareth went 26-for-58 (44.8%) from the field with four three-point baskets. The Golden Flyers also went 24-for-31 (77.4%) from the foul line.
Daniel Cook, the 2021-22 Empire 8 Player of the Year, led St. John Fisher with a game-high 28 points and 10 boards.
Utica and Nazareth will meet at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon for the Empire 8 Championship. The Pioneers are looking to make it back-to-back E8 titles, while Nazareth is attempting to win its fourth league championship and first since 2017-18. Utica and Nazareth split the regular season series with each team winning on its respective home court. Nazareth earned a 79-39 win on Jan. 15, while Utica bounced back with an 82-67 win on Feb. 11. Coston and Hopkins scored 24 points apiece for Utica on Feb. 11
2021-22 Empire 8 Men's Basketball Championship Schedule
Tuesday, February 22 – First Round (at Higher Seed)
No. 4 Alfred University defeated No. 5 Russell Sage, 75-61 – BOX SCORE
Friday, February 25 – Semifinals (at Utica)
No. 1 Utica defeated No. 4 Alfred, 75-70 – BOX SCORE
No. 2 Nazareth defeated No. 3 St. John Fisher, 80-71 – BOX SCORE
Saturday, February 26 - Championship Final (at Utica)
No. 2 Nazareth at No. 1 Utica - 3 p.m. – STATS/VIDEO