HOUGHTON, NY— With upset aspirations on the mind, the Houghton Highlanders pulled within a pair of buckets late, only to watch the #20 Nazareth Golden Flyers slip through their fingers once again, 66-72.
 
Over the first 20 minutes the Highlanders turned in perhaps their best half of the season, limiting the nationally-ranked Golden Flyers to only one three-point basket and a 34 percent shooting performance from the floor.  At the break, Houghton led by three, 38-35.
 
The Highlanders came out hot in the second half, as a three-pointer from Daniel Rosario and a layup by Esafe Taufahema put Houghton up by eight points. 
 
Nazareth responded, eventually erasing the Houghton lead, and after a three-minute back-and-forth at the midway point, the Golden Flyers reeled off a 7-0 run to go up by eight points, 61-53.
 
The Golden Flyers eventually built their lead to 10, but the Highlanders refused to cave, gradually chipping away, until, with 36 seconds remaining, Jajuan Preaster sank a layup to pull Houghton within five and quickly received the ball back after Nazareth threw the ball away. 
 
After grabbing an offensive rebound, David Rosa drew a foul, and sank one-of-two from the line. 
 
Forced to foul, Houghton sent Zach Stenglein to the line, and as he had been all night long, Stenglein came through in the clutch, sinking both free throws to ice the game for the Golden Flyers.   
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 66 |#20 Nazareth – 72
Records: Houghton: 2-9 (1-4 Empire 8) | #20 Nazareth: 11-1 (5-0 Empire 8)
Venue: Dix Family Court, The Nielsen Center, Houghton University | Attendance: 175

NOTABLE STATS
>> Preaster finished with a team-high 16 points, while pulling down seven rebounds.
 
>> Taufahema posted 12 points, nine boards and two blocked shots.
 
>> Stenglein led the Golden Flyers with 18 points and three steals, while Jonathan Park came within one blocked shot of a triple double, collecting 14 points, 13 boards and nine blocks.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"I thought that was the most complete game we've played. Against a lot of other teams, that would have been enough to earn a W. Naz is different. They made some huge shots, we missed a few, and despite our great offensive rebounding effort in the second half, they did just enough to get stops. Still, our goal is excellence, and we did a lot of excellent things today.
 
"I thought our bench stepped up again, providing crucial minutes for a group of starters taxed by illness this week, plus the back-to-back. Seeing us get deeper is exciting." - Head Coach Jeremy Bialek

UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to the Nielsen Center on Tuesday, January 10 for a non-conference tilt with the Cazenovia Wilcats at 7:00 p.m.