Men's Basketball | 3/4/2023 9:32:00 PM
GLASSBORO, NJ - The Utica University men's basketball team fell to Rowan University 83-72 on Saturday night in the NCAA Division III Second Round. Utica ends its season 23-5 overall with its first NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 17 seasons. Rowan improves to 24-5 and will compete in the NCAA Round of 16 next Friday.
Darius Hopkins shined in his final collegiate game with a career-high 30 points, including shooting 6-for-13 from beyond the arc. Hopkins was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the line and collected five rebounds.
Dayion Thompson dropped 13 points with five assists and two rebounds. Justice Brantley scored 10 points with six rebounds and Damien Call had six points with six rebounds.
Rowan started off hot from the field jumping out to a quick 8-0 lead. Yet, Damien Call responded with a three pointer to cut the lead to 8-3. A Darius Hopkins three pointer and Justice Brantley and-one had Utica down just 12-10 with over 13 minutes left in the first half. Rowan responded with a 4-0 run yet buckets by Luke Bourgault and Hopkins had the team down just one at 16-15 halfway through the frame. The teams exchanged scoring runs and Utica was down 27-26 with less than seven minutes to play in the half. Rowan ended the half with a few transition buckets to take a 44-31 lead into the break.
Rowan continued to be able to score efficiently and led 58-47 before an 8-0 Utica run cut the lead to 58-55 with just under 11 minutes left in the game. Yet, Rowan responded with an 11-0 run to hold a 69-55 edge. Utica responded to cut the lead to 75-66 with just over five minutes remaining. But Rowan held on to win 83-72 and advance to the third round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
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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
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