UTICA, N.Y. – Visiting SUNY Morrisville men's basketball dropped a non-conference match at host Utica University Saturday afternoon, falling by an 82-59 final, despite outg aining the Pioneers in the paint.

THE BASICS:

• Team Scores: Morrisville 59, Utica 82 (Halftime: Utica 40-26)
• Location: Clark Athletic Center, Utica, N.Y.
• Records: Morrisville 2-2, Utica 5-1

 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Chris Merilus (Nyack, N.Y.) scored a collegiate high 17 points Saturday afternoon to lead the visiting SUNY Morrisville men's basketball team in a non-conference affair on the road at Utica, but it wasn't enough as the Mustangs fell 59-82 in non-league action.
• The Mustangs outgained the Pioneers in points in the paint, 34-26, but turnovers proved costly as Utica capitalized with a 16-5 advantage in points off miscues.
• Merilus also added five rebounds and two steals to his totals, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor and snagging four offensive boards.
• Jacob Works (Liverpool, N.Y.) added 10 points to go along with seven apiece from Kareem Sanders (Schenectady, N.Y.) and Jalyn Moorehead (Rochester, N.Y.).
• Sanders collected a team high 12 rebounds and two steals, with another seven coming from Yvan Fils-Aime (Dix Hills, N.Y.).
• Utica's Dayion Thompson led all scorers with 25 points on the day, collecting six teams and two assists, while Hagen Foley posted a 13-point outing, hitting three three-pointers.
• Liam Teague had 12 points and seven boards, alongside Damien Call, who snagged a team best 12 boards, while adding nine points.
• Both teams were knotted at seven points apiece a mere five minutes in, but the host Pioneers put together a 15-4 run to open an 11-point gap with just over eight minutes to go in the first half, increasing the lead to as many as 19 with just over a minute to go before the half.
• Back-to-back buckets by Moorehead sent the game into the break with a 14-point host advantage, 40-26.
• In the second, Utica utilized a 45.45% effort from long range to put the game out of reach for the Mustangs, posting the convincing win on the Pioneers home court.

 
 
WHAT'S NEXT:
 

• Morrisville will head to Delhi on Tuesday before entering league action against Plattsburgh on Dec. 6 in their first SUNYAC match of the 2024-25 season.

 
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