HOUGHTON, NY – It may not have been pretty, but sometimes the stat that matters most is the one in the win column.   
 
In a chaotic, fast-paced game, the Houghton Highlanders tied their season-high for turnovers (32), but outshot their opponent by 14 percentage points (46%-to-32%), picking up their fourth conference with of the season over the Medaille Mavericks, 76-65.
 
Through the first 16 minutes of play, the teams raced neck-and-neck, but over the final four minutes of the first half the Highlanders sank three layups and a pair of free throws by Koen Rolleman to head the locker room up by eight, 32-24.
 
Houghton extended their lead to double-digits early in the second half, but the Mavericks battled back to within three before a three-pointer from Daniel Rosario kick-started a 9-2 run by the Highlanders.
 
Within minutes the Houghton lead was back to double-digits. 
 
The Highlanders led by as many as 17 late in the game, and while the Mavericks would again draw as close as nine points with less than a minute to play, they would come no closer.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 76 | Medaille – 65
Records: Houghton: 5-13 (4-7 Empire 8) | Medaille: 6-11 (4-6 Empire 8)
Venue: Dix Family Court, The Nielsen Center, Houghton University | Attendance: 215

NOTABLE STATS
>> David Rosa scored a career-high 21 points, going 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.  He also added six rebounds, three blocked shots and a pair of steals.  Rosa topped 20 points for the second time this season.  He is currently averaging 12.4 points per game.
 
>> Jajuan Preaster collected 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.  While the junior forward topped double-digit points for the 15^th time this season, he came just one point shy of stretching his 20-plus points per game streak to six consecutive games.
 
>> Luke Cole came within a single point of collecting his first career double-double, grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds and scoring nine points.  He also added three blocked shots and two steals.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"That was some of the best defense we've played all season. To give up as much as we did on our turnovers and still hold them to 65 was pretty nice work.

"A lot of credit goes to our bench, too. Guys like Zach Fahey and Koen Rolleman played more minutes than normal and contributed in big ways. Noah Campbell came up with some key plays late. 22 bench points shows how hard those guys work in practice and how ready they are." - Head Coach Jeremy Bialek

UP NEXT
The Highlanders head to Rochester this next Friday, February 3^rd for a rematch with the Nazareth Golden Flyers.  Nazareth defeated Houghton earlier this season, at the Nielsen Center, 72-66.