Veterans Lead Men’s Basketball Past Houghton, 101-68
ROCHESTER, NY – Graduate students Logan Blankenberg (20 points) and Jordan Haggard(22 points) led the Nazareth University Men’s Basketball team to a dominating 101-68 win over Houghton University Tuesday night in an Empire 8 contest at Kidera Gymnasium.
It is the 14th consecutive win for Nazareth (10-6 overall, 7-1 E8) over Houghton (5-12, 3-5 E8) and the 23rd in the last 25 meetings in the all-time series.
Haggard scored five of the first nine points for the Golden Flyers as Nazareth jumped out to an early lead.
The Highlanders pulled to within two points at 11-9 but Haggard scored another five straight points to regain control before a 12-0 run sparked by sophomore Tyler Putney as Nazareth opened a 19-point lead at 32-13 with 10:30 left in the opening period. Putney scored eight points in the run.
Blankenberg added five more points and sophomore Jaylen Savage added a pair of baskets in the final minutes of the half as Nazareth used another 10-0 run to extend the lead to 28 points at 55-27. The Golden Flyers led 57-30 at the break.
The Golden Flyers added two more big runs in the second half to further the lead.
The 100-point game was the first since Jan. 18, 2022 when Nazareth scored a 108-71 win at Keuka and the first century mark at home since Jan. 29, 2019 as Nazareth posted a 128-88 win over Elmira in Kidera Gym.
The 22 points by Haggard led all scorers and led five players into double-digit scoring. Blankenberg had 20, Jack Broderick added 16 while Savage and Putney each scored 13 in the win. Junior Luke Insley scored six points, handed out six assist and had four steals.Nazareth will play a pair of Empire 8 games at home this weekend with Hartwick Friday and Sage Saturday.
Early Run Propels Women’s Basketball Past Houghton
ROCHESTER, NY – Graduate student Olivia Dobrovosky scored 13 of her team-leading 18 points in the second half as the Nazareth University Women’s Basketball team pulled away from Houghton University for a 70-58 victory Tuesday night in an Empire 8 matchup in Kidera Gymnasium.
Nazareth (15-2 overall, 7-1 E8) used a 10-0 run early in the first quarter to build a double-digit lead at 17-5 and took a decisive 21-10 lead into the first quarter break. Junior Madilann Johnson had five points in the key early run and finished the first half with a team-leading 10 points.
Sophomore Kiara Anglin drained a pair of baskets in the second quarter to help the Golden Flyers maintain their lead as Nazareth took a 32-23 lead into halftime.
Dobrovosky led the way in the third quarter with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting as Nazareth built a 54-36 advantage after three periods.
Anglin and Dobrovosy combined for 10 points in the final quarter as Nazareth led by as many as 20 points at 62-42 with six minutes remaining.
Houghton (15-2, 6-2 E8) trimmed the lead to 11 points at 65-54 with 3:18 left but sophomore Molly Benetti completed a three-point play to regain control.
Dobrovosky led all scorers with 18 points while Anglin added 14 points and a team-leading 18 rebounds and Johnson finished with 11 points and four assists for Nazareth. Benetti finished with nine points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.Nazareth continues Empire 8 play Friday at home against Hartwick and faces Russell Sage Saturday in the Flyer Fanatic contest at Kidera Gymnasium.