HOUGHTON, N.Y. – A day after Corky McMullen and his wife, Ryan, welcomed their fourth son, Ty Joseph McMullen, into the world, the first-year head coach guided the Houghton Highlanders to their fourth victory of the season over the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford Panthers, 72-67.
 
McMullen relied on a 25-point effort from his bench, a double-double from senior Johnathan Stowe, the veteran leadership of senior Jordan Scott, and some clutch free throw shooting to seal the victory.
 
Pitt-Bradford nailed a pair of deep three-pointers down the stretch, continually keeping the Panthers within striking distance, but Houghton sank eight straight from the free-throw line to ensure the win.
 
Game Vitals
Score: Houghton – 72 | Pitt-Bradford – 67
Records: Houghton: 4-4 | Pitt-Bradford: 3-6
Venue: The Nielsen Center, Houghton College | Attendance: 92

Key Moments
>> After battling back-and-forth throughout the first 20 minutes, the Highlanders appeared to gain momentum in the early minutes of the second half after John Nelson made a bucket in the paint and Scott put Houghton up by eight with a clutch three.
 
>> Houghton led by as many as 12 with less than six minutes to play after Mike Clark sank a coast-to-coast layup.  The Panthers, however, refused to give up, pulling within three on a Manny Welch three-pointer with three-and-a-half minutes remaining.
 
>> Two more times the Highlanders pulled ahead before a deep three from Welch brought the Panthers back.  Finally, with eight seconds remaining, Welch nailed a 25-footer to bring Pitt-Bradford within three, but forced the foul, the Panthers sent Phil Pellegrino to the line, where the senior guard sank two to seal the win for the Highlanders.
 
Key Stats
>> Houghton shot 15-of-17 from the free-throw line, including 13-of-15 in the second half.

>> The Highlanders held advantages in bench points (25-17), points off turnovers (22-14), and points in the paint (40-28).

>> Stowe collected his fourth double-double of the season, posting 16 points and 14 rebounds.
 
>> Dylan Lambert and Clark chipped in 13 and 11 points apiece, respectively, and Scott added seven points and seven assists.

>> Welch led the Panthers with 21 points, while Evan Greening posted 20 points and 18 rebounds.
 
Coach's Corner
"This was a good team win tonight.  Samuel Ortega, Darius Brown, Mike Clark and Carl Holmes gave us a great lift off the bench in the first half. 
 
"Johnathan Stowe was the X-factor on the glass and Jordan Scott was a coach on the floor.  When he's out there we play with great harmony.
 
"I'm proud of how we finished the game after a late run by a well-coached Pitt-Bradford team.  Dylan Lambert was clutch from the line down the stretch to seal the win." –Coach Corky McMullen

Next Time Out
The Highlanders head to Buffalo for one final non-conference matchup against D'Youville College on Tuesday, January 3^rd before heading into the conference stretch of their season.  Tip-off with the Spartans is slated for 6:00 p.m.