Men's Basketball | 3/1/2024 9:06:00 PM
HARTFORD, CT - A historical season came to a close for the Utica University men's basketball team as the Empire 8 Champion Pioneers were defeated by the No. 3 Trinity College (CT) Bantams, 83-54, in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday evening. Utica had its season come to a close with a 24-4 mark, while Trinity moves to 27-1.
Justice Brantley led the Pioneers in his final career game with 19 points (7-16 FG, 3-5 3PT). Also playing in his final game with Utica, Thomas Morreale had nine points, five rebounds and two assists before fouling out late in the game. Damien Call shot 50 percent from the field and totaled 12 points and seven rebounds. Hagen Foley (6), Griffin Barasa (5), and Neruda Perdomo (1) rounded out the scoring.
Trinity controlled the paint with 56 of their 83 points coming within the area. They also scored 19 second chance points, 19 points off turnovers and 18 points on fast breaks while winning the rebounding margin 43-25.
The first 12 minutes of play were neck-and-neck as the Pioneers remained within four points. After the Bantams climbed ahead 4-0, Justice Brantley knocked down a three and, following another Trinity bucket, a Damien Call layup made it a 6-5 game. Later at 10-7, Utica drew even for the first time since the opening tip with a Call three at the 12:09 mark.
As the Bantams made their way back up 16-12, back-to-back buckets by graduate students Brantley and Morreale tied the score once again.
However, behind the deep ball, points off turnovers and hustle plays, Trinity went on a 19-6 run over the final 6:33 of the half to go into the break with a 35-22 advantage. Call led the team with eight points (3-5 FG) at the half while Brantley cashed in seven to go with a team high four boards.
In the minutes leading up to the under 16 minute media timeout, the Pioneers trimmed their deficit down to 12 with four points from Morreale and three each from Griffin Barasa and Brantley. Trinity put up nine of its own to lead 44-32 with 15:30 to play. The sides went cold over the ensuing four minutes, scoring only two points each as Trinity remained up by 12 with just under 12 minutes to play.
From there Trinity out-scored the Pioneers 37-20 to close out the game and advance to the second round.
The Pioneers end their 2023-24 season with their third consecutive Empire 8 regular season title, their second Empire 8 Conference title in the last four seasons, second straight NCAA Tournament berth and with the most wins in a single season in program history (24).
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.
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