UTICA, NY – The Utica Pioneers capitalized on a 13-to-2 run midway through the second half to turn a two-point advantage into a sizable lead, eventually eliminating the Houghton Highlanders in the quarterfinal round of the Empire 8 men's basketball championship tournament, 80-68.
 
After trailing by as many as five points 13 minutes into the first half, the Pioneers peeled off a 16-0 run, and eventually went to the locker room up by seven, 37-30.
 
Utica would stretch their lead to double-digits in the opening minutes of the second half, but Houghton battled back, pulling to within only two points on three-pointer by Preston Thomas with 16:22 left to play.
 
Houghton would stay within shouting distance for several more minutes, but eventually the aforementioned run would stretch the Pioneers lead back to double-digits.
 
With less than five minutes to play the Highlanders would make one final comeback attempt, as Thomas and Christian Sage both hit layups following a Jajuan Preaster dunk.
 
In the final minute of play, a Hudson Idzi tip-in would pull Houghton within seven, but the Pioneers would allow their opponent to come no closer to the upset, pulling away to move on to the semifinal round.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: #7 Houghton – 68 | #2 Utica – 80
Records: #7 Houghton: 13-13 | #2 Utica: 19-7
Venue: Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium, Utica University| Attendance: 482

NOTABLE STATS
>> While the Highlanders hit an impressive 10-of-11 shots from the free throw line, the Pioneers converted 22-of-29.
 
>> The Highlanders finished with double-digit wins for the first time since 2016-17, and the most wins since 1994-95. 
 
>> In his last game as a Highlanders, Jajuan Preaster scored a team-best 21 points and pulled down three rebounds.  This season he scored 412 points and currently ranks second in the Empire 8 in points per game (17.2). 
 
>> Preaster finished his career with 1,482 points, passing Dylan Lambert ('19) for sixth place on the all-time Houghton scoring board.  He is the only men's basketball player in Houghton history to collect at least 1,400 points, 500 rebounds (554), 250 assists (257) and 150 steals (154). 
 
>> Lou Bellamy collected 14 points and 11 rebounds, good for his ninth double-double of the season, and the 22^nd time this year he has crossed the double-digit scoring threshold.  Bellamy leads the Empire 8 in rebounds per game (9.2) and ranks third in points per game (16.6). 
 
>> Christian Sage finished with nine points and two steals.  In his only season as a Highlander, Sage scored 416 points and dished out 88 assists.  He ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (16.0 ppg), fifth in assists (3.4 apg), eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5), and third in three-point field goal percentage (.419).
 
COACH'S CORNER
"Congrats to the Utica Pioneers and Coach Coffey. They remain the defending champs. I thought we had a great shot at unseating them today, but we just struggled to finish possessions with makes on offense and defensive rebounds at the other end.
 
"But the heart our guys showed to keep clawing back into it, especially when your shots are not falling, was impressive.
 
"There are eight seniors I don't get to coach in practices or games anymore. That's hard. These guys took us to a place this school has not seen in 30 years, and I hope they will always be remembered for that, plus all of the effort they put into changing our academic and overall team culture. It will be hard to forget the electricity they brought to Nielsen on game nights.
 
"That's the best game Jajuan [Preaster]'s had at Utica since I've been here. He was super tough and composed in a playoff atmosphere. I'm not sure if everyone appreciated just how good Juan was over his career, but I've enjoyed watching it and I will miss it." – Head Coach Jeremy Bialek