HOUGHTON, NY— Jordan Holmes scored 17 second-half points as the Houghton Highlanders cut a 17-point halftime deficit to six points with 3:29 to play before falling to the Penn State-Abington Nittany Lions, 86-73.
The first half proved a perfect storm as Houghton committed 15 turnovers, shot only 35 percent from the floor and were out-rebounded by the Lions, 25-to-16.
With just over 14 minutes remaining in the game, the Lions hit a three that put them up by 21 points. But the Highlanders refused to quit, turning in a 14-3 run over the next six minutes to pull within 10.
After Abington pushed the lead back to 16, Holmes hit a jumper, then back-to-back threes by
Darren Clark and Holmes pulled the Highlanders within eight. With 3:29 on the clock,
Scottie Berghaus capped the 8-0 run with a layup to cut the Lions lead to only six points.
That, however, would be as close as the Highlanders would come. Abington sank a pair of clutch baskets before finishing the final minute of the game a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 73 | PSU Abington – 86
Records: Houghton: 1-9| PSU-Abington: 6-2
Venue: Memorial Gymnasium, Juniata College | Attendance:
NOTABLE STATS
>> Holmes finished with a season-high 28 total points and 10 rebounds (nine of which came in the second half), good for his third double-double of the season. He is now averaging 14.5 points per game, which leads the team and ranks second in the Empire 8, only one-tenth of a point-per-game behind leader Sam Dagon of Alfred University.
Today's performance pushed Holmes over 700 career points. The junior forward now has 707 with 15 games remaining in the season.
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Kyle Donk added 10 points and two blocks for the Highlanders, while Ramos-Net dished out five assists. Ramos-Net currently ranks third in the Empire 8 with 3.6 assists per game.
>> Pernell Ghee led the Lions with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists and five steals.
UP NEXT
The Highlanders will break for final exams and Christmas, returning shortly after the New Year to host SUNY – Environmental Science and Forestry at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 4.
