Content houghton wins over fisher for the first time since joining empire 8 recap from houghton website below

houghton wins over fisher for the first time since joining empire 8 recap from houghton website below

Highlanders Knock Off St. John Fisher for Historic Win

PITTSFORD, NY – Some wins mean more than the final score.  For the Houghton men’s basketball team, and Head Coach Jeremy Bialek, Tuesday night’s, 91-82, victory over the St. John Fisher Cardinals was just such a win. 

Since joining the Empire 8 in 2012-13, the Highlanders had not defeated the Cardinals in 25 attempts.  But as they have continued to prove, the tides are changing in Houghton.

Houghton dominated early, building a 17-point lead in the first seven minutes, but Fisher refused to quit.  With 2:30 remaining in the first half, Houghton led by 13, but the Cardinals reeled off an 11-2 run to close the half, trimming the Highlanders’ deficit to only four points.

At the start of the second half, Fisher closed to within a single point early, but again Houghton went on a tear, capitalizing on an 11-point run to eventually go up by 16 on a three-pointer by Preston Thomas with 12:01 to play.

Time and time again, the Cardinals looked to make a run, but the Highlanders continued to answer throughout the waning minutes, and eventually, forced to foul, Houghton hit five-of-six from the line in the final seconds, and Fisher simply ran out of time.

GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 91 | St. John Fisher – 82
Records: Houghton: 8-5 (3-1 Empire 8) | St. John Fisher: 4-9 (0-4 Empire 8)
Venue: Manning & Napier Varsity Gymnasium, St. John Fisher University | Attendance: 125

NOTABLE STATS
>> While both teams shot comparably overall (Houghton 49 percent, Fisher 48 percent), Houghton hit 10-of-24 (42 percent) from beyond the arc, while Fisher converted only 6-of-22 (27 percent).

>> For the first time in nearly 12 years, three Highlanders – Christian Sage (22 pts), Lou Bellamy(22 pts) and Jajuan Preaster (21 pts)—scored 20 points or more in the same game.  The Highlanders last accomplished the fete on February 9, 2013, when Mark O’Brien (27 pts), Chris Confair (20 pts) and Seth Shay (20 pts) pulled off the hat-trick.

>> Preaster now has 1,271 career points and ranks eighth on the all-time scoring list.  He trails seventh-place-holder Harold Spooner by 79 points.

COACH’S CORNER
“First ever win against Fisher [since joining the Empire 8]? That was amazing. These guys are so bought in and it shows.

“I challenged them on their defense and decision making. They’ve answered. I believe this team has not trailed for three straight games. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a team do that. This team is about breaking old trends and breaking new ground.

Jajuan Preaster was in attack mode the whole game. 10-14 from the floor in a big game. He led us, calmed even me down at times, and was part of history. I wanted this win for him, Luke ColeDavid RosaDaniel Rosario so bad. They chose the hard road and stuck with Houghton. They deserve the fruit.

Lou Bellamy was so heady in how he attacked their big and how he defended him. Great application of the scouting report along with his usual points and boards.

“I’m running out of things to say about Christian Sage. What a winner. Big shot after big shot. When we took the big lead, he was all business and kept reminding everyone that we could not let up.

“Preston [Thomas] hit some huge shots. His presence really helped us expand the zone and then find the holes inside.” – Head Coach Jeremy Bialek

UP NEXT
The Highlanders travel to Utica this weekend, where they will take on the Utica University Pioneers on Friday at 7:00 p.m., then travel across town to play the SUNY Poly Wildcats on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

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