HOUGHTON, N.Y.—Down by 13 points with less than five minutes to play, the Houghton Highlanders fought back to within two and had a chance to tie with four seconds left on the clock before falling to the Hilbert Hawks in their season opener, 91-94.
 
The Hawks move to 2-0 on the season while the Highlanders now stand at 0-1.
 
The score remained close throughout the first half.  While the Hawks shot nearly 57% from the floor and went 13-14 from the line, the Highlanders collected 15 offensive boards and went to the locker room down by only two at the intermission, 50-48.
 
In the second half the Hawks bolstered their transition game, going on an 18-9 run early on and building a 14 point lead with less than 11 minutes to play.
 
Slowly the Highlanders began to claw their way back into the game and with 53 seconds remaining Johnathan Stowe (Toronto, ON, Canada, Don Mills Collegiate Institute) found Antonio Deadmon (Dallas, TX, Texas Southern) for a long three to put Houghton within two.
 
After a free throw extended the Hilbert lead to three, the Hawks fouled the Highlander shooter on a three point attempt with four seconds remaining in the game, giving Houghton the chance to tie. 
 
Unfortunately for the Highlanders, they were only able to convert on one free throw and the Hawks would seal the victory.
 
Houghton freshman Dylan Lambert (Amherst, NY, Williamsville North) poured in 23 points in his first collegiate contest, going 9-16 from the floor.  Stowe added 17 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, while Phil Pellegrino (Rochester, NY, Alfred University) chipped in 18 points.
 
Jerame Owens led Hilbert with 23 points and four other Hawks scored in double-digits.
 
The Highlanders returns to action on Friday, November 20 when they take on the Oberlin College Yeomen at 7:00 p.m. in the Nielsen Center on the campus of Houghton College.