HOUGHTON, N.Y. – Russell Sage College had its two-game winning streak come to an end with Saturday afternoon's 83-68 Empire 8 Conference loss at Houghton.
The host Highlanders (5-11/3-4 E8) got started quickly, racing out to first half leads of 6-0 and 30-16. Ahead 41-30 at the intermission, Houghton, which shot 53.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 41.2 percent from beyond the arc, led by as many as 20 in the second half. They held a double-digit advantage for the final 12:19.
Junior forward Todd Williamson (Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons) equaled a career-high of 18 points in the road loss. He went 7-of-11 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds.
Senior forward Tahirou Hamidou (Bronx, NY/Carolina Basketball Academy/Livingstone) and junior guard Noah Girard (Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls) added nine points apiece, while freshman guard Deavion Springsteen (Albany, NY/Albany) registered eight points, three assists and three steals.
Houghton senior forward Jajuan Preaster, who began the weekend ranked third in the E8 with 19.2 points per-game, topped all participants with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Junior guard David Rosa contributed 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in the home victory.
RSC (8-9/1-7 E8) plays next on Friday at 7:30 pm at Saint John Fisher.
Gator Bites: Head coach Brian Barnes is in his 15th season at the helm of the Gators…Seven returnees and eight newcomers comprise this year's roster…The team's co-captains: Girard senior guard Jackson Brown (Latham, NY/Catholic Central/Fredonia State) and Williamson helped the Gators get off to a 4-0 start…Girard started the weekend leading the Gators with 16.6 points per-game, good for sixth in the E8... He recorded 31 points, a career-high, on 10-of-16 shooting in the November 18 win at SUNY Poly...Brown added 10.7 points per-game, while Williamson averaged 7.9 points and 6.1 rebounds...An RSC player has taken home Empire 8 Conference Rookie of the week on four occasions...Freshman center Khalel Noteman (Brooklyn, NY/Canarsie) was picked three times (November 13, November 27, December 4), while Springsteen was chosen on November 20…RSC entered the weekend leading the E8 by allowing 67.4 points per-game…The Gators also topped the Conference in opposing field goal percentage (39.8) and opposing three-point field goal percentage (26.1).
