ONEONTA, N.Y.— Hartwick's ability to come out of the first half strong while using the same consistency in the second half, allowed for them to follow through in beating Houghton 86-58.
The first five minutes of the game went back and forth between Highlander and Hawk points, a 10-7 run Hartwick lead.

Houghton did not stay on Hartwick's heals for long. Within the next 8 minutes, the Hawks rose above the Highlanders by scoring 23 points while only allowing 8 Houghton points.

While it looked like Tyler McQuaid (Lowman, NY, Twin Tiers Christian Academy) and Brennen Campbell (Perry, NY, Perry Central) could help turn things around with their 6 consecutive points, the Hawks managed to capitalize on a handful of free throws and a 3-pointer to close out the first half 43-25.

Hartwick was able to continue to push forward into the second half by leading a 23-15 point run. With 10 minutes left in the game, Houghton's Brandon Camacho (Dundee, NY, Dundee High School) executed a 3-point shot that started the back-and-forth scoring trend between the two teams.

With less than 5 minutes left in the game, the Highlanders found themselves in the same predicament as earlier in the game, down 24 points. With a 77-53 lead, the Hawks continued to push forward in their efforts, beating the Highlanders by a final score of 86-58.

McQuaid earned 14 points on the night, followed by Johnathan Stowe (Toronto, ON, Canada, Don Mills Collegiate Institute) with 8 points, and Campbell and Frank Bushen (Rochester, NY, SUNY Potsdam) with 7 points each.

Houghton (4-5) plays away tomorrow, January 3rd, against Stevens Institute of Technology with a start time of 5 p.m.