Men's Basketball | 2/22/2024 10:27:25 PM
Top-seeded Utica University (23-3) and No. 2 Nazareth College (19-7) advanced to the 2024 Empire 8 Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game after earning semifinal victories on Thursday, February 22. Utica knocked off No. 4 seed Alfred University, 70-61 while the Golden Flyers outlasted No. 3 seed St. John Fisher College, 92-85. Utica will host Nazareth from Miga Court at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium in the 2024 Empire 8 Championship on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The 2024 Empire 8 Champion will earn an automatic berth into the upcoming NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, which begins March 1-2.
Utica is looking for its second Empire 8 Championship, while Nazareth is attempting to win its second league title in the last three seasons and fifth in program history.
Utica and Nazareth split the regular season series, with each team winning on its opponent's home court. The Pioneers rallied to earn a 77-75 win at Nazareth on Jan. 9, while the Golden Flyers defeated Utica, 86-74 on Jan. 30.
NO. 1 UTICA 70, NO. 5 ALFRED 61
For the second time in three seasons the Utica University men's basketball team will play for the right to be crowned Empire 8 champions. In the same fashion that was the 2021-22 season, the Pioneers defeated the visiting Alfred University Saxons in the Empire 8 Semifinals at home, 70-61. Utica improves to 23-3, while Alfred had its season come to an end with a 12-15 mark.
Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) shined with a 20 point (7-10 FG, 3-3 3PT), 11 rebound double-double. He added two blocks and two steals to his line as well. Morreale, along with
Hagen Foley (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) (19 points, 7-11 FG, 3-5 3PT),
Justice Brantley (Catskill, NY/Catskill) (12 points, 4-9 FG) and
Damien Call (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) (10 points, 4-6 FG) accounted for 60 of the team's 70 points.
Luke Bourgault (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute) added seven in 29 minutes off the bench.
For the Saxons, Tyler Hind dropped 22 points as he willed himself through 38 minutes of play. Franlys Valenzuela recorded a 12 point, 15 rebound double-double in the losing effort.
As a defensive unit, Utica held Alfred to just 35.5 percent shooting from the floor and 23.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Saxons did, however, dominate the boards as the visitors out-rebounded the Pioneers 39-29.
Hind accounted for 16 of Alfred's 28 first half points while Foley, Morreale and Brantley had 10 apiece for 30 of Utica's 39.
The Pioneers couldn't have asked for a better start to the game as Alfred began the opening 7:45 0-for-11 from the floor. Utica, taking full advantage, jumped out to a 15-0 lead with Morreale and Foley combining for 12 points.
Alfred would get its first two points on the charity stripe before chipping away to make it a 15-9 game with 10:48 left in the first.
Over the ensuing seven minutes, the Pioneers regained complete control as they increased their advantage to 19 points at 34-15. The run was fueled by the local duo of Call and Morreale while Foley and Brantley hit some timely jumpers to keep the pressure on Alfred.
However, the Saxons held Utica to just two points over the final four minutes of play while Hind led Alfred back to within eight points at the half at 36-28.
The sides traded blows to open up the second half but despite Utica keeping pace, a pair of Alfred threes turned it into a 44-43 game in favor of Utica with 14:22 to go.
That moment would signal as close as the Saxons would come throughout the rest of the contest.
A layup by Call followed by back-to-back buckets by Foley created some breathing room for the Pioneers while Morreale and Bourgault would later combine for seven points in a stretch to put the team ahead 60-50 with 6:30 to play.
While the Saxons came back within six points with 5:30 to go, Morreale connected for back-to-back three-pointers to essentially put the game out of reach. The Pioneers put the finishing touches on the contest from the free-throw line to advance to the 2023-24 Empire 8 Championship.
NO. 2 NAZARETH 92, NO. 3 ST. JOHN FISHER 85
Graduate student
Logan Blankenberg scored 22 points and sophomore
Jaylen Savage added 20 points to lead the Nazareth University Men's Basketball team to a 92-85 win over St. John Fisher Thursday night in the Empire 8 Tournament semifinal game at Kidera Gym.
The Golden Flyers fell behind early but battled back to take a 37-36 lead into the halftime break.
The teams battled back-and-forth for nearly the entire second half with 12 ties and 12 lead changes in the final 20 minutes.
The turning point came with just over five minutes to play in the game. After junior Luke Insley hit a pair of free throws to put Nazareth up 67-64, Blankenberg forced a turnover and Savage pushed the ball through the St. John Fisher defense to find sophomore Solomon McFarlane open in the corner as he drained a 3-pointer to give Nazareth a six-point lead at 70-64.
After the teams traded baskets, McFarlane hit another 3-pointer from the top of the key as Nazareth pushed ahead by seven at 75-68.
The Cardinals trimmed the lead to three at 77-74 with 1:54 to play but free throws by Insley, McFarlane and graduate student Jordan Haggard sealed the victory.
Blankenberg finished with a team-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and three 3-pointers with eight rebounds while Savage finished with 20 points with 7-of-14 shooting and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Haggard added 13 points and a team leading nine rebounds while Insley dropped in 12 points, had nine assists and zero turnovers. Sophomore
Tyler Putney also scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Daniel Cook, the four-time Empire 8 Player of the Year, led all scorers wiith 31 points to go along with 16 rebounds and five assists for the Cardinals, who have their season come to an end with an 18-9 mark.
2023-24 Empire 8 Men's Basketball Championship Schedule
Tuesday, February 20 – First Round (at Higher Seed)
No. 3 St. John Fisher defeated No. 6 Houghton, 79-65 – BOX SCORE
No. 5 Alfred defeated No. 4 Keuka, 80-60 – BOX SCORE
Thursday, February 22 – Semifinals (at Higher Seed)
No. 1 Utica defeated No. 5 Alfred, 70-61 -– BOX SCORE
No. 2 Nazareth defeated No. 3 St. John Fisher, 92-85 – BOX SCORE
Saturday, February 24 - Championship Final (at Highest Remaining Seed)
No. 2 Nazareth at No. 1 Utica -– 2 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
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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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