HOUGHTON, NY – Brandon Harris hit a layup with seven seconds remaining to put Russell Sage up by two, and Avery Oduro-Dompreh blocked the final three-point shot, as the Gators stole a late victory from the Houghton Highlanders on their home court on Saturday afternoon, 71-69.
 
The Highlanders rallied from a four-point halftime deficit, and trailed by as many as eight points early in the second half, eventually grabbing the lead on a three-pointer from Lou Bellamy with 11:09 remaining in the game.
 
Houghton maintained the lead for the next 9:40, but never led by more than four, until a Noah Girard fade-away jumper gave the lead back to the Gators.
 
Trailing by four with less than a minute to play, Christian Sage and David Rosa hit both ends of a pair of free throws to tie the game, before Harris would pull off his late heroics.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 69 | Sage – 71 
Records: Houghton: 11-9 (6-5 Empire 8) | Sage: 13-7 (6-5 Empire 8) 
Venue: The Nielsen Center, Houghton University | Attendance: 165

NOTABLE STATS
>> While the Gators only outrebounded the Highlanders by a single board (36-to-35), they pulled down five more offensive rebounds (15-to-10) and scored four more second-chance points (11-to-7).
 
>> Christian Sage finished with a team-best 23 points, 15 of which came in the second half, as he near-single-handedly put the Highlanders on his back during multiple points in their rally.  He finished a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line and is shooting 84 percent from the line this season. He is currently averaging 16.3 points per game and has scored at least 20 points in a game seven times this season.
 
>> Lou Bellamy and Jajuan Preaster added 12 and 10 points apiece, respectively. 

>> Luke Cole turned in multiple clutch hustle plays, finishing with six points and nine rebounds in 15 minutes of play.
 
>> Harris led Sage with 23 points and four steals, while Oduro-Dompreh added 18 points, seven boards and three blocked shots.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"A lot of credit to Sage and Coach Barnes. They had lost four straight and played with a passion that we did not match.
 
"We knew they crashed the boards, but we did not stop it. That, plus our turnovers were big difference makers.
 
"When we're at our best, we are together running offense, moving the ball, and generating a lot of assists. Today, we had 12 assists with 17 turnovers, plus we added several contested shots.
 
"Christian Sage was solid even though he did not shoot it well. I feel bad that I didn't come up with a better play at the end to free him up or force Sage to help, so he could find a teammate." – Head Coach Jeremy Bialek
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders travel to Elmira next Friday, January 7 for a key Empire 8 matchup with the Soaring Eagles.  Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.