HOUGHTON, NY— For the second-straight year, Houghton and St. John Fisher split their two games as the Cardinals grabbed a 68-58 win over the Highlanders at the Nielsen Center on Tuesday.

A year ago each team won on their home courts; this season the road teams got the victories. Houghton defeated the Cardinals 58-55 two weeks ago.

The Highlanders came out strong and grabbed a 21-15 lead after the first quarter Tuesday, but as has been the case in several games this season, the second quarter proved to be the team's demise. The Cardinals scored the first eight points of the quarter to take a 23-21 lead and ended up outscoring the hosts 20-8 over the 10 minutes to take a 35-29 lead into the break.

Houghton was unable to break out of their second quarter slump after the half, as the Cardinals scored the first 11 points of the second half and pushed the lead to as many as 20 (56-36) with two minutes left in the third quarter.

The lead was 17 with 2:31 left in the contest when the Highlanders started to chip away. Leslie Moose hit two free throws to spark a 9-0 Houghton run that was capped by a lay-in from Amber Edwards to trim the margin to eight with 1:19 left in the contest. But that was as close as Houghton would get. The Cardinals hit four free throws over the final 33 seconds to seal the win.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 58 | St. John Fisher – 68
Records: Houghton: 10-8 (6-3 Empire 8) | St. John Fisher: 12-5 (7-1 Empire 8)
Venue: The Nielsen Center, Houghton College | Attendance: 158

NOTABLE STATS
>> The Cardinals shot 40 percent from the field, while Houghton converted just 35 percent of their shots

>> Houghton lost the battle of the boards, 43-31

>> Both teams shot well from the charity stripe, with the Cardinals hitting 19-of-20 and the Highlanders converting 11-of-13
 
>> Emily Swanson led the Highlanders with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. Brittany Lenart (12) and Amber Edwards (11) also reached double figures in scoring

>> Laurie Call finished with five points, seven assists and three steals

>> The win keeps the Cardinals a half game up on Sage for first place in the E8 with a record of 7-1.Sage is 6-1. The Highlanders, who are the only team to beat both the Cardinals and Gators, are alone in third with a 6-3 E8 mark.
 
UP NEXT
Houghton gets a week rest before they host the Alfred University Saxons in the Nielsen Center on Tuesday, January 30 at 8 p.m.