ONEONTA, N.Y. – Despite a much-improved second half, the Houghton Highlanders could not overcome a 17-point halftime deficit, falling to the hot-handed Hartwick Hawks in the Empire 8 men's basketball conference opener, 85-98.
  
Game Vitals:
      >Score:  Houghton College - 85   |   Hartwick College - 98
      >Records:  Houghton College: 5-4   |   Hartwick College: 6-4
      >Venue: Lambros Arena, Oneonta, NY   |    Attendance: 349
 
Game Flow
      > The Hawks jumped out to an early lead, then surged ahead midway through the first half thanks to an 18-2 run.  Hartwick led by as many as 21 at several points.
      > Joey Lufkin scored 21 of his game-high 31 points for the Hawks in the first half, draining 7 of 11 shots from the floor and two from long range.    
      > Hartwick again led by as many as 21 with just over nine minutes remaining before Houghton began to close the gap.  Back-to-back three pointers by Jordan Scott (Burlington, ON, Canada, Notre Dame Secondary) and Brandon Camacho (Dundee, NY, Dundee High School) pulled the Highlanders to within 12 with just over five minutes on the clock, but the team was unable to continue the run to close the gap further.
 
Analysis:
      > For the night the Hawks shot an unbelievable 52.1% from the floor, draining 19 of 36 shots in the first half and 18 of 35 in the second.  Hartwick's outside game was simply unstoppable, as they shot 12 of 24 from beyond the arch, including a red hot 63.6% in the first half.
      > Houghton warmed up considerably in the second half, shooting 44.2% from the floor and 41.2% from three-point land.  However, they could neither overcome the Hawks deadly shooting or their own shooting struggles in the first half, during which the Highlanders shot only 31.6% and made only 4 of 17 shots from long range.
      > Hartwick posted an impressive 12-1 advantage in blocked shots and a 9-4 edge in steals.
 
Clutch Performances:
The Highlanders:
      > Johnathan Stowe (Toronto, ON, Canada, Don Mills Collegiate Institute) led the Highlanders with 20 points on 10-13 shooting, and pulled down eight rebounds.
      > Phil Pellegrino (Rochester, NY, Alfred University) added 18 points on 7-14 shooting, including 4-8 from beyond the arch.
      > Antonio Deadmon (Dallas, TX, Texas Southern) posted a game-high 10 assists.
     
The Hawks:
      > Lufkin finished with a game high 31 points and Trevor Norton sank five of seven three point attempts, finishing with 22 points.
      > Matt Wilson scored 14, pulled down 14 boards and posted four blocks.
 
Next Time Out:
Houghton returns to action this weekend with back-to-back home games against Ithaca College on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and St. John Fisher College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.