ONEONTA, N.Y. – Despite 20-plus point efforts by three different players, the Houghton Highlanders fell to the Hartwick Hawks on Saturday evening, 83-94. 
 
Phil Pellegrino, Johnathan Stowe and Mike Clark all scored more than 20 points, accounting for 77 percent of the Highlanders scoring.
 
The Hawks hit 15 threes, went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line, and committed only 11 turnovers in the victory.
 
Game Vitals
Score: Houghton – 83 | Hartwick – 94
Records: Houghton: 6-7 (1-3 Empire 8) | Hartwick: 11-4 (4-2 Empire 8)
Venue: Lambros Arena, Hartwick College | Attendance: 325
 
Key Moments
>> Hartwick pulled ahead early and led by as many as 13 early in the first quarter before Houghton rallied.  Clark and Stowe combined for six straight points before the Hawks pulled ahead again.
 
With the Hawks up eight with three and a half minutes to play in the half, Clark nailed back-to-back threes to cut the lead to two.  But the Hawks hit a three of their own to head to the locker room up by five.
 
>> The Hawks came out gunning in the second, reeling off a 10-0 run to start the period.
 
Houghton promptly answered with a 13-0 run of their own, capped by a Pellegrino three to cut the Hawks' lead to two.
 
>> The Highlanders kept things close over the next 10 minutes, but Hartwick finally broke through, chalking up a 14-2 run into the final minute.
 
Houghton finished with a flurry, including a Samuel Ortega jam, but the Hartwick lead was too large to overcome.
 
Key Stats
>> Houghton shot 50 percent (9-of-18) from three-point range, but hit six fewer threes than the Hawks, who shot 15-of-32 (47 percent) from beyond the arch.  Hartwick also made an impressive 60 percent of their shots from the floor in the second half.

>> The Highlanders outrebounded the Hawks, 43-32, but Hartwick maintained a 15-11 advantage in turnovers and converted their takeaways into points at a higher clip, 23-17.

>> Pellegrino finished with a team-high 23 points, while Clark scored 21 points and added seven assists, and three steals.
 
>> Stowe collected his seventh double-double of the season, posting 20 points and 10 rebounds.  Dylan Lambert also added his third double-double of the season with a 14 point, 10 rebound effort.

 Coach's Corner
"I'm proud of how our guys battled back a few times tonight.  Hartwick has some offensive weapons and we let them get away from us early.
 
"Hats off to a very good Hartwick team.  They did a good job of changing defenses and putting pressure on our defense with dribble penetration.
 
"We did a great job of keeping our personality on the offensive end.  We executed well to chip away at the lead.  We just could string together enough stops down the stretch to get the lead back." –Coach Corky McMullen

Next Time Out
Houghton returns to the friendly home confines of the Nielsen Center on Tuesday as they take on the visiting Elmira College Soaring Eagles at 8:00 p.m. in another Empire 8 matchup.