BUFFALO, NY— Kendall McGill hit a three-pointer from the corner with 4.3 seconds on the clock to lift the Medaille Mavericks past the visiting Houghton Highlanders on Thursday night, 77-74.
 
Moments earlier, with the game tied, 72-72, Jajuan Preaster grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and quickly found Billy McCrae slashing through the lane.  McCrae drew the foul as he rose toward the basket and sank both of his ensuing foul shots to put the Highlanders up by two. 
 
After trailing by as many as nine points seven minutes into the second half, Houghton reeled off an 8-0 run, and eventually surged ahead.  With four minutes remaining, Josh Jordan grabbed an offensive board and sank the putback to put the Highlanders up by seven, 71-64. 
 
That lead, however, would quickly fade as the momentum once again turned in the Mavericks favor.  In the closing minutes the Medaille defense forced multiple Houghton turnovers and converted on timely shots.
 
Medaille's Rodney Graves would sink two final free throws with .05 seconds remaining to give provide the Mavericks some cushion.  
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 74 | Medaille – 77
Records: Houghton: 0-6 | Medaille: 3-3
Venue: The Kevin I. Sullivan Center, Buffalo, NY | Attendance: 80

NOTABLE STATS
>> Houghton committed a season-high 30 turnovers, while Medaille gave the ball away only 15 times.
 
>> Preaster led the Highlanders 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists.  McCrae picked up his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. 
 
>> Jordan and Preston Bax chipped in 12 and 11 points apiece, respectively.
 
>> McGill paced the Mavericks with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds, while Graves added 15 points.
 
UP NEXT
Houghton travels to Cazenovia College on Tuesday, December 7 to take on the Wildcats at 7:00 p.m.  This will be the first meeting between the two schools.