Men's Basketball | 1/3/2023 10:07:00 PM
UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team put itself back in the win column with a 75-69 win over the St. John Fisher University Cardinals at home on Tuesday night.
Justice Brantley led all scorers with 20 points on 6-for-14 shooting and 6-of-7 shooting from the free-throw line. It was his fourth consecutive game with 20 or more points. Brantley also finished tied for the team lead with seven rebounds along with Avery Coston, who also added 15 points. Two other Pioneers recorded double-figures in points in Darius Hopkins and Dayion Thompson, both of whom netted 12.
For the Cardinals, Daniel Cook topped the team in scoring with 19 points followed by Jack Foley with 14 and Brendan Trapper with 13. Cook also finished tied for the team lead with seven boards and three assists.
The Cardinals opened the game red-hot as the team started on a 13-0 run over the first 6:30 of play. However, Coston provided a spark with a three-pointer to get Utica off the schneid. From there, three's by Hopkins and Thompson along with free-throws by Brantley had the team on an 11-0 run of its own before a Damien Call layup evened the score at 13 with 10:30 left in the half.
Fisher proceeded to answer back with a 10-4 scoring surge before the Pioneers controlled the remaining five minutes of action. From down 23-17, Utica outscored the Cardinals 15-4 to enter the half ahead 32-27. Both teams shot just under 36 from the floor in the first half while the advantage came for Utica beyond the arc and at the charity stripe.
Much like Fisher in the first half, Utica opened up scoring in the second half with a quick basket by Hopkins and a step-back three off the hand of Coston to take its biggest lead of the night up to that point at 10. Utica eventually chipped away to take a 16 point advantage at 65-49 with 4:30 to play until the Cardinals turned it up a notch.
Over three minutes, Fisher cut its deficit to seven points before taking it to five with 35 seconds to play. However, combined 4-for-4 free-throw shooting by Thomas Morreale and Coston iced the game and gave Utica its fourth straight win over Fisher.
The four-game winning streak over the Cardinals is a new program best after previously entering the contest with three and posting another three-game stretch from 1975-77.
Utica (8-2, 3-0 Empire 8) will travel to Keuka College on Saturday for the team's first game against the Wolves this season. Tip-off from Keuka Park, NY is set for 4 p.m.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram