UTICA, N.Y. — The Keuka College Men's Basketball team held a four-point lead at halftime, but the Wolves would fall to Utica University 78-72 in an Empire 8 game on Saturday afternoon.

Mason VanDeMortel (Newark, N.Y. / Newark) and Devin Milton (Opelousas, La. / Beau Chene) took the lead for Keuka College (7-11, 3-10 Empire 8). VanDeMortel made seven threes on his way to a team-high 25 points. Milton was right behind him with 22 points in the loss.

Utica University 78 vs. Keuka College 72

The Wolves jumped out to an early 10-7 lead. Mason VanDeMortel (Newark, N.Y. / Newark) hit an opening three for the Wolves. Devin Milton followed with the next seven for the Green and Gold, the final two coming on a slashing jumper, forcing Utica into a timeout. Utica took back the lead, but it would be short-lived. The lead would change hands and be tied multiple times in the first half. Keuka College would take the lead back late in the half and stretch it to seven following a three by Camden Banks (Titusville, Fla. / Space Coast) with four and a half minutes left in the half. The Pioneers cut the margin down to two, but Keion Brooks (Titusville, Fla. / Home-Schooled) found Devin Milton for the layup in the final seconds as Keuka College led 38-34 at the half.

After an opening basket by Milton, the Pioneers scored seven straight to take the lead. The game remained close, but Utica would regain the lead and push the margin to eight points. The Wolves cut it down to six following a basket by Milton and then down to five on a Will Tehan (Victor, N.Y. / Victor) three with nine minutes left to play. The Wolves later cut the lead down to four after Mason VanDeMortel hit a three with seven minutes left in the game. A three by Devin Milton cut the margin back to four with four minutes left, but the Pioneers scored seven straight to push their lead to 11 in the final minute. The Wolves battled til the end, making three threes in the final 39 seconds, but Keuka College would fall at Utica 78-72.

KC Notes:

• Keuka College has lost seven straight to the Pioneers and is 7-20 all-time against Utica
• The Pioneers lead the Empire 8 Conference with an undefeated record
• The difference in the game was found at the free throw line. The Pioneers outscored the Wolves by 21 points from the charity stripe. Utica was 24-28 while Keuka was 3-4
• The Wolves made 15 threes, tying for the seventh-most in a game in program history
• Mason VanDeMortel tied his career highs with 25 points and seven three-pointers. The junior surpassed 500 career points combining his time at Finger Lakes CC and Keuka College
• Devin Milton continued his climb up the career scoring list. The senior now has 1,110 points in his career and passed Corey Edwards '07 for seventh on the career list

Up Next for Keuka College: The Wolves go from facing the Empire 8's top team on the road to facing the second-place team on the road on Tuesday. Keuka College will travel to Nazareth College to face the Golden Flyers on Feb. 7. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.