Highlander Men Edged by Notre Dame
(Houghton, N.Y.)—In
a game that was a lot tighter than its final score
indicated, the men’s basketball team lost to
the Notre Dame Falcons at the Nielsen Center Saturday afternoon, 70-60.
Most of the excitement came in the second half of
a game that featured eight lead changes and three ties, with
neither team able to build a double-digit lead until the
final minute.
Notre Dame built an eight-point lead (13-5) in the
first seven minutes, then Houghton came back to lead by one
(26-25) with four minutes left. The Falcons closed out the
half with a 9-2 run to take the lead at the break, 34-28.
Houghton responded early in the second half to tie
it up in less than four minutes. For the next 12 minutes the
game see-sawed, with the teams trading the lead half a dozen
times. Notre Dame was up 55-54 with four minutes left when
they ran off 10 straight points in three minutes to seal the
win.
Yannick Anzuluni had another double-double for
Houghton, his second in as many days, with 13 points and 10
rebounds. Rimgaudas Valaitas hit 4-7 from three-point range
on his way to leading the team with 15 points.
Valaitas, who played for
Jamestown Community College at Olean before transferring to Houghton, was one
of two seniors honored by the Highlanders before the game as
part of Senior Recognition Day (pictured above with Coach
Zarges). Campbell-Savona’s Jon Van Skiver (pictured at
right) was the other; he had six points on the night.
Kyle Miller led the Falcons with 24 points. Karim
McFarlane had 18, and took down 10 rebounds.
The Highlanders’ record is now 7-17, 0-8 in the
American Mideast Conference North Division. Houghton is at
home Tuesday, February 19 to face the Daemen Wildcats.
Tip-off is at 8 p.m.
Houghton College
has deep
and
solid
roots in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, where our
teams use their commitment to excellence, both on the field-of-play
and
in the classroom, as a platform for their strong and
unique emphasis on Sports Ministry. Their goal is to make a difference
for the Kingdom
on campus, in Allegany County,
in the Northeast and
around
the world.
Houghton is one of only 13 institutions who have been hand-selected
by the NAIA to serve as "Champions of Character" Program Centers, opening the door
for Houghton to be a leader,
both in the Northeast and
nationally, in character education.
Through hands-on,
innovative community outreach initiatives, Houghton coaches and
student-athletes
are working together to change the culture of sport and
to change our culture through sport.
