HOUGHTON, NY— In their first game in over three weeks, the Houghton Highlanders once again took a game down to the wire, this time falling to the SUNY Geneseo Knights in the closing seconds, 66-61.
 
After trailing for most of the first 24 minutes of play, the Knights reeled off a 14-2 run over a four minute span midway through the second half, thanks in large part to a rarely-used full-court press, building their lead to 11 points, 48-37.
 
Undaunted, the Highlanders slowly chipped away at the deficit, eventually tying the game, 55-55, on a Jordan Holmes free throw with 2:35 remaining.
 
Geneseo again pulled ahead, and led by four points, when with 24 seconds to play, Houghton's Reese Gustafson drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to pull the Highlanders within one.
 
After Geneseo sank the front end of a one-and-one to pull ahead by two, Josh Jordan drew a foul, sending the sophomore forward to the line for the Highlanders with only six ticks on the clock.  Jordan sank the first, but could not convert the second, forcing Houghton to foul. 
 
In the waning seconds the Knights converted four consecutive free throws to seal the game.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 61 | SUNY Geneseo – 66
Records: Houghton: 0-9 | SUNY Geneseo: 5-3
Venue: Dix Family Court, The Nielsen Center, Houghton College | Attendance: 72

NOTABLE STATS
>> After Houghton won the turnover battle in the first half, 10-12, the Knights flipped the tables, giving the ball away only three times in the second half, while the Highlanders committed 10 giveaways.
 
>> Geneseo converted 12-of-14 shots from the line (86%), while Houghton made only 13-of-25 from the charity stripe (52%).
 
>> Holmes notched his first double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  The 15 points gave Holmes 1,163 career points, and move him into ninth place on the all-time Houghton scoring leaderboard, passing Devin Paige (2007-11, 1,162 points).  He now trails eight-place-holder Yannick Anzuluni (2006-10) by only 57 points.
 
>> Jordan scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, and Gustafson chipped in 14 points.
 
>> The Knights were led by Terrance Nichols (17 points) and Cole Kattan (15 points).
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders begin Empire 8 conference play on Tuesday, when they will travel to Rochester to take on the Nazareth College Golden Flyers at 7:30 p.m.