CANTON, O.H.— The Highlander Men's Basketball team was unable to claim a victory over the Pioneers of Malone University, losing 95-72.

While the Pioneers were able to score early in the game, a jumper by Tyler McQuaid (Lowman, NY, Twin Tiers Christian Academy) and a 3-pointer by Phil Pellegrino (Rochester, NY, Alfred University) gave the Highlanders a brief 5-4 lead.

Malone scored 10 consecutive points before an interruption by Pellegrino, scoring on a jumper. With the continued assistance of McQuaid and Pellegrino, Houghton kept their deficit to a minimal 22-11. Luke Khachadourian (Clifton Park, NY, Loudonville Christian) had a jumper, tip-in, and layup that helped maintain the 10-point Highlander deficit, 29-19. This would mark the last time Houghton would be down by a minimal 5 field goal shots.

The Highlanders defense continued to fall behind, Malone taking a 33-21 lead. The Pioneers continued the trend with 12 consecutive points, leading 45-21 with a 24 point lead. Two free throws by Darius Brown (Toano, VA, Bruton High School) broke-up the Malone shooting spree.

With less than 4 minutes left in the first period, McQuaid and Pellegrino each capitalized on a 3-pointer. Jordan Scott (Burlington, ON, Canada, Notre Dame Secondary) was also able to sink 2 free throws and a 3-pointer of his own, putting the score at 52-34. With 35 seconds remaining in the first half, the Highlanders successfully attempted one final layup, closing out the first period 52-36.  

Down 16 points going into the second half, Houghton began to temporarily minimize the gap. Two 3-pointers by Pellegrino and a free throw by Johnathan Stowe (Toronto, ON, Canada, Don Mills Collegiate Institute) would bring the score to 55-43. This 12 point deficit would be the smallest trail that Houghton would see for the remainder of the game.

The Pioneers would go on to continue with 15 additional points, with only minor interruptions by Pellegrino and Stowe. Down 70-47, Highlanders' Scott and Frank Bushen (Rochester, NY, SUNY Potsdam) brought them to a score of 70-54.

While the trend of the Highlander offense looked promising, Malone not only continued to match point for point, they also pushed forward to expand the gap in the score. The game was in favor of Malone, 87-67 with just under 4 minutes left in the game. The Pioneers claimed 8 more consecutive points, leading by 28 points; 95-67.

With 1 minute 58 seconds left in the game, Scott sunk a free throw followed by Stowe with a free throw of his own. 4 seconds left in the game was when Cullen Hardin (Olney, MD, Chapelgate Christian Academy) scored on a layup and then capitalized on a free throw. Unfortunately, it was too late for the Highlanders to come back, losing 95-72

Pellegrino claimed 18 points on the night, while going 4-6 at the 3-point line. Scott earned 11 points, while going 3-4 at the free throw line. McQuaid followed with 9 points.

The Men's Basketball team is back in action on Wednesday, December 3^rd where they will play at home against the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford with a start time of 7 p.m.