HOUGHTON, NY – Christian Sage pumped in 25 points, while a 26-4 first-half run vaulted the Houghton Highlanders past the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs, 81-65.
 
In 2023-24, the Mustangs posted an impressive 20-5 record, and in the early minutes it looked like the Highlanders might be in for a rough night. 
 
Morrisville led 10-2 in the early minutes, and still led, 12-7 just over seven minutes into the game, when James Wang slammed home a dunk, blocked a shot on the other end, then returned to hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to kick start the Houghton run.
 
After Morrisville scored to cut the Houghton lead to 13, the Highlanders went off again, scoring 11 straight points.  At the half, held a commanding 50-28 advantage.
 
Houghton led by 26 just over six minutes into the second half, but the Mustangs refused to go quietly, peeling off an 11-0 run, and eventually pulling to within 12 points.
 
But the Highlanders regained their footing and kept the Mustangs at bay for the remainder of the game to pick up their first win of the season.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 81 | SUNY Morrisville – 65
Records: Houghton: 1-1 |SUNY Morrisville: 0-1
Venue: The Nielsen Center, Houghton University | Attendance: 215

NOTABLE STATS
>> While the Mustangs committed fewer turnovers than the Highlanders (16-9), Houghton outrebounded Morrisville, 52-41.  The Highlanders also hit 12-of-29 shots (41%) from beyond the arc, while the Mustangs went just 1-for-17 (6%) from long distance.
 
>> Sage hit 7-of-12 from three-point range, while Jajuan Preaster picked up his first double-double of the season, scoring 10 points (all within the last 10 minutes of the game) and pulling down a career-high 17 rebounds.  Prior to this evening, Preaster's career-best rebounding performance was 12, which he accomplished on multiple occasions.  Preaster now has 1,108 career points, moving into 13^th place on the Highlanders' career leader board.  He needs only 28 more points to move into the top 10.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"We had the best overall half so far this season in the first 20 minutes. A lot of credit to Morrisville State for flipping the script in the second half.
 
"We struggled to find the balance between disciplined offense and taking advantage of their pressure in the second half, but Jajuan Preaster, Lou Bellamy, and Preston Thomas made some huge shots down the stretch to help us hold on.
 
"Christian Sage has confirmed all that we thought he was when we brought him in. He's leading, he's making big shots, and he's helping us stay composed in big moments. The scoring is nice, but don't miss all the rest he is doing.
 
"Jajuan [Preaster] had one of his best overall nights in a Houghton uniform. Don't let the 5-14 field goal stat fool you. Those 17 boards and six assists, plus the help D he played, was huge for us." – Head Coach Jeremy Bialek
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to the Nielsen Center on Saturday, when they will host the Case Western Reserve Spartans (Receiving Votes) at 4:00 p.m.