Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball Falls at Utica

UTICA, NY - Utica College pulled away in the second half to down Hartwick 78-58 on Saturday night at Harold T. Clark Gymnasium. The Pioneers, who have won four straight conference games, improve to 7-6 and 4-3. Hartwick slips to 7-6 and sits at 1-4 in the Empire 8 standings.

A.J. Beaulieu (Chicopee, MA) led Hartwick with 15 points on the night. James Mantas (Niskayuna, NY) scored a career-high 10 points. Kyle Phillips (Ashland, MA) and Ramond Doyley (Yonkers, NY) each netted seven.

Doug Herring paced four Pioneers in double figures with 16 points. James Patterson and Patrick Goodman each scored 13 and Justin Maxwell registered 12.

The Hawks trailed by just six points at halftime, 32-26, with Beaulieu and Doyley leading the way with seven points each in the first session. The Pioneers took it to 'Wick in the early going of the second half scoring eight of the first 10 points in a 15-6 run to take a commanding 15-point 45-30 lead.

Hartwick was able to slice the Utica lead to 10 points on two occasions with the last coming at the six-minute mark following a three-point play from Mantas which made the score 58-48. The Hawks, however, would miss their next four shots over the next two minutes allowing the Pioneers to open up a 16-point advantage. UC would end the contest on a 20-10 run over the last six minutes.

Utica shot 73% from the field (16 of 22) in the all important second half and 57% for the game. The Pioneers were also accurate when they shot from three-point range as they connected on 8 of their 12 shots for the game.

Hartwick hit 44% of its shots for the night but struggled from long distance going just 2 for 14 (14%).

The Hawks hit the road for a big showdown at Stevens on Tuesday. 'Wick then returns to Binder on Friday as it hosts Elmira.