ALBANY, NY— Knowing that a win would solidify their first trip to the post-season in over a decade, the Houghton Highlanders could not complete a late comeback run, falling to the Russell Sage Gators, 73-66.  Luckily for the Highlanders, the Elmira Soaring Eagles also lost to the Utica Pioneers, allowing the Highlanders to slide into the conference tournament as the number six seed.
 
Despite a close first half that saw the Gators pull ahead by two points following a three from Noah Girard in the final minute, Sage quickly built a double-digit lead in the second half.
 
The Gators maintained that lead until the Highlanders began a comeback in the closing minutes, and with only 28 seconds remaining, David Rosa came up with a steal, finding Preston Thomas for the fast break lay-in to pull Houghton within three points.
 
Following a foul and a missed free throw by the Gators, Houghton had a chance to tie the game, but missed a three and Sage sank four consecutive free throws in the waning seconds to ice the game.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 66 | Russell Sage – 73
Records: Houghton: 7-18 (5-11 Empire 8) | Russell Sage: 10-15 (3-13 Empire 8)
Venue: Kahl Gymnasium, Russell Sage Colleges| Attendance: 324

NOTABLE STATS
>> The Gators dominated the boards, outrebounding the Highlanders, 52-to-38.  Houghton struggled offensively throughout, shooting only 39 percent from the field, and converting only 6-of-19 (32 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
>> Preston Thomas scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Trey Flatt scored 11 points and dished out seven assists.
 
>> Hudson Idzi and Jajuan Preaster added 12 and 10 points apiece, respectively.  Preaster has reached double-digit points in 20 of the 22 games in which he has played this season.  He now has 1,050 points for his career.
 
>> Jackson Brown and Girard led the Gators with 18 and 16 points apiece, respectively.
 
>> The Houghton men last reached the post-season in 2012-13, when they played Roberts Wesleyan in the NCCAA East Regional.  The Highlanders will play in their first Empire 8 conference tournament, their first conference tournament appearance since 2000-01 (Northeast Atlantic Conference). 
 
COACH'S CORNER
"A few of the same issues keep popping up - rebounds, shot selection, and missed free throws. Sage crashed the glass hard and we did not do a good enough job keeping them off.
 
"They also guard against dribble penetration really well, which means [we] need to move the ball and cut. We did not do much of either, so we struggled to score. I thought our defense, for the most part, did what it needed to do.
 
"Hudson Idzi is really coming alive. You can see him getting more comfortable on both ends. It's the start of a great career at Houghton." – Head Coach Jeremy Bialek
 
UP NEXT
The #6 seeded Highlanders will head to Rochester on Tuesday to face the #3 seeded St. John Fisher Cardinals at 6:00 p.m.