ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College men's basketball fell to the Pioneers of Utica 81-71 on Saturday afternoon.
RSC controlled the scoreboard for most of the contest, holding a 58-55 lead with nine minutes left in the second half. The Pioneers missed just five field goals the rest of the way, combining high-percentage shooting with good defense to secure their fifth Empire 8 conference victory.
The Gators (12-5/5-3 E8), had three in double-figures in the loss. Sophomore Avery Oduro-Dompreh (Elkridge, MD/Oakland Mills) led the way for RSC with a season-high 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting. The forward brought down five rebounds and blocked two Pioneer shots.
Senior guard Noah Girard (Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls), who became just the fifth RSC Men's Basketball player to reach the 1000 career points mark last week against St. John Fisher, hit four three-pointers on his way to 14 points. Junior guard Brandon Harris (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton/Herkimer CC) played 34 minutes off the bench and registered 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds, nearly securing a double-double.
Sophomore guard Deavion Springsteen (Albany, NY/Albany), senior forward Todd Williamson (Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons), and sophomore guard Jden Golding (Green Cove Springs, FL/Clay) each added six points in the effort.
Utica University (11-6, 5-3 E8) was led by junior guard Dayion Thompson, who scored a game high 25 points and went a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe in the victory.
Looking ahead, the Gators (12-3/5-1 E8) are back in action on Tuesday night as they play host to Hartwick at 7:30.
Gator Bites: The 2024-2025 season marks the 16th for Head coach Brian Barnes at the helm of RSC…The Gators entered the weekend leading the Empire 8 Conference by allowing 60.7 points per-game…RSC also boasted the top scoring margin in the E8 at 11.6…Nine returnees combine with seven newcomers on this year's edition… Senior guard Noah Girard (Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls) and Senior forward Todd Williamson (Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons) were voted co-captains of this year's squad…Girard, the program's career leader for made three pointers, became just the fifth Gator to surpass 1,000 career points on Friday vs. SJFU…The guard, currently with 1,021 career points, will finish his senior season ranked among the top-five in program records for career points, career assists, and career steals…Williamson was selected the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 5…He registered team-highs of 16 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists in the home win vs. SUNY Cobleskill on January 3... Sophomore forward Avery Oduro-Dompreh (Elkridge, MD/Oakland Mills) is a presence in the post for the Gators...The forward began the weekend leading the Conference in blocks per-game and was ranked second in the E8 in rebounding...Green tops RSC in scoring (14.2 points per-game), assists (2.7), and steals (2.1) and is second on the team in rebounding (7.1) and blocks (0.9)...He averaged 18.0 points on 46.3 percent shooting and 7.3 rebounds to help the Gators go 3-0 this week...He totaled 10 assists, four steals, and two blocks across the three games.
