GENESEO, NY— It was a tale of two half for the Houghton men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon.  Despite outscoring their opponent by seven points in the second half, the Highlanders could not overcome an icy shooting performance in the first half, eventually falling to the SUNY Geneseo Knights, 86-64.
 
Houghton converted only 6-of-26 shots (23 percent) in the first half, while the Knights knocked down 18-of-26 (69 percent), leading to a 29 point Geneseo lead at the half.
 
In the second half Houghton looked like a completely different team, protecting the ball and shooting 58 percent from the floor (19-of-33) while holding the Knights to only 47 percent shooting (14-of-30).
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 64 | Geneseo – 86 
Records: Houghton: 1-4 | Geneseo: 2-3
Venue: Schrader Gymnasium, SUNY Geneseo | Attendance: 277

NOTABLE STATS
>> AJ Bass led the Highlanders with 13 points, going 5-for-7 from the floor, while fellow freshman Billy McCrae scored 11 points and added four assists and five rebounds.
 
>> The Highlanders welcomed back sophomore Darren Clark, who had been sidelined for the first four games of the year with an injury.  In 14 minutes Clark scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds.
 
>> Michael Gannon and Alex Merhige led the Knights with 19 and 15 points apiece, respectively.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"Tonight was a tale of two halves.  [In the second half] we played with better tempo, made more of an effort to value the basketball, and created extra opportunities by rebounding on the offensive end.
 
"I was proud of the way the guys came out and played in the second half.  We just need to put 40 good minutes together.  We'll keep getting better." – Head Coach Lance Westberg
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to the Nielsen Center on Tuesday, November 26 when they will host the Grove City Wolverines.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.