UTICA, NY – The SUNY Poly Wildcats continued to show why they have the top-ranked defense in the Empire 8, as they defeated the Houghton Highlanders, 77-54.
 
The Wildcats, who have allowed nearly 100 total points fewer than the next closest team in the conference, limited the Highlanders to only 39 percent shooting, while also collecting 14 more rebounds.
 
Poly's lead reached double-digits just over five minutes into the game, and by the half they held a 21-point advantage, a hole too deep for the Highlanders to climb out over the final 20 minutes.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 54 | SUNY Poly – 77
Records: Houghton: 6-15 (3-9 Empire 8) | SUNY Poly: 16-5 (9-3 Empire 8) 
Venue: Campus Center Gymnasium, SUNY Polytechnical Institute| Attendance: 134

NOTABLE STATS
>> Lou Bellamy scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds.  Bellamy is averaging 19.3 points per game on the season and has reached double-digits in all but one game this season.
 
>> Emmanouil Manolopoulos scored 10 points, going 3-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line.  He also added two assists and two steals.
 
>> William Scanlon and Anthony Rose led the Wildcats with 18 and 14 points apiece, respectively.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"Poly is a tough defense to play against. You see the numbers and video of what they do to teams. Playing against it is even more suffocating. They care about that end a lot, and it shows.

"We did much better caring about that end in the second half, but our lack of focus and execution defensively early gave Poly the cushion they needed. I felt like we had a lot of good looks on offense once we composed ourselves, but they just were not falling tonight.
 
"It's now or never for us as far as the playoffs go. Defending, rebounding, and generating great possessions have to be our norm from here on out." - Head Coach Jeremy Bialek

UP NEXT
The Highlanders will stay overnight in Utica and travel across town tomorrow to take on the Utica University Pioneers at 4:00 p.m.