ALFRED, NY— After letting a 13-point lead slip away in the closing minute of regulation, the Houghton Highlanders clamped down in overtime to defeat the rival Alfred Saxons, 111-106, on Tuesday night.
 
The Highlanders held a slim three-point lead at the half and the two teams played evenly throughout the second half's first four minutes before Houghton opened the floodgates.  Over the ensuing five minutes the Highlanders reeled off a 15-1 run, capped by a three-pointer from Isaac Dow, to go up by 13 points.
 
Moments later Houghton would stretch their lead to 16 points when Dow found Darren Clark, who converted a three-point play.    
 
The Saxons would cut the lead to 10 on a layup by Sam Dagon, but Houghton retained a comfortable, double-digit lead as the game entered the final minute of regulation.
 
Then things got interesting.
 
Dagon scored seven straight points in less than 30 seconds, and after Billy McCrae sank a pair of free throws, Marshall Brewster hit a three, stole the ball and made a layup to pull Alfred within three points.
 
With 14 seconds remaining Alfred fouled and Houghton missed both free throws.  Brewster grabbed the rebound and found Dagon, who missed a three.  Brewster then grabbed the offensive board, raced to the arc and drained his own three-pointer as time expired, sending the game into overtime.
 
With less than a minute remaining in the extra period the scored stood locked, 102-102, when Houghton's Isander Ramos-Net found Scottie Berghaus for his eighth three-pointer of the night to put the Highlanders up by three.  After a steal by Darren Clark the Saxons were forced to foul in the closing seconds.  This time there would be no second epic comeback, as the Highlanders closed out the game from the line.  
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 111 | Alfred – 106 (OT)
Records: Houghton: 4-14 (2-5 Empire 8) | Alfred: 9-9 (3-4 Empire 8)
Venue: Terry S. Galanis Family Arena, Alfred University| Attendance: 200

NOTABLE STATS
>> The 111 points scored by the Highlanders, and the 217 points posted by the two teams combined, are the most points scored in a single men's basketball game since February 18, 2018, when they defeated Elmira College, 108-103.  The team record for most points in a game in Houghton history came against D'Youville College in a 141-78 Highlander win in 1982-83. Saturday's combined point total ranks fourth all-time behind that game, a 121-103 Houghton loss to Elmira in 1974-75 and a 118-106 loss to Roberts Wesleyan in 1993-94. 
 
>> While the Highlanders committed 21 turnovers and Alfred only nine, the Saxons gleaned only a five-point differential off of turnovers, 18-to-13.
 
>> Houghton sank an astounding 34-of-49 free throw attempts and drained 15 three-points at a 58 percent clip, all season-highs.  The Saxons converted only 9-of-33 three-point attempts (27 percent).
 
>> Clark finished with a career-high 30 points on 10-of-17 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 8-of-13 from the line.
 
>> Scottie Berghaus also netted a career high with 28 points, draining 10-of-14 from the field, including a career-best 8-of-11 from three-point range. 
 
>> Ramos-Net scored 18 points and dished out eight assists, and Jordan Holmes claimed his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
 
>> Cole Eels led the Saxons with 30 points, while Dagon and Brewster added 22 points apiece.  Mike Schmidt posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists, while also collecting six steals.
 
UP NEXT
Houghton heads to Rochester this Friday for a rematch with the St. John Fisher Cardinals at 5:30 p.m.  The Cardinals defeated the Highlanders in the Empire 8 opener on January 11, 93-56.