Houghton
Men Fall Just Short Against Roberts
(Houghton,
N.Y.)—The Houghton College men led for three-quarters of the
game against American Mideast Conference North Division rival
Roberts Wesleyan Tuesday night at the Nielsen Center, but it
wasn’t enough and the Raiders came away with a 49-42 victory.
“We
played good defensively and terrible offensively” said Brad
Zarges, Houghton’s head coach. The numbers bear him out.
The
Highlanders held the Raiders to a dreadful 28 percent shooting
in the first half, but shot only 33.3 percent themselves while
taking a 23-19 halftime lead.
In
the second half, the Highlanders got stuck on the 33-point mark
for almost five minutes, while the Raiders went on a 9-0 run to
turn a four-point deficit into a 38-33 lead with 9:06 left in
the game.
That proved to be the difference. The Highlanders gave up just
eight points in the last seven minutes of the game, but could
score only five of their own as the two teams struggled over
every possession.
Yannick Anzuluni and Mada Abdelhamid (pictured at right) led the
way for the Highlanders, scoring 11 and 13 points and dominating
the boards with 13 and 14, respectively. The Highlanders
out-rebounded Roberts 44-30.
Brandon Jones was the only on in double figures for Roberts,
with 10 points.
Houghton’s record stands at 7-13; they are 0-6 in the AMC North.
The men travel to Mount Vernon Nazarene University for a 7:00
game Thursday night.
