HOUGHTON, N.Y. - The SUNY Geneseo men's basketball team couldn't pull out a nail-biting victory at Houghton on Friday evening, falling 74-73. The defeat drops the Knights to 9-14 overall and 6-8 in Empire 8 play, while the Highlanders improve to 13-10 and 8-6 in the conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Geneseo jumped ahead early, as three's from Trevor Hofer and Jackson Casey gave them a quick 10-1 advantage just three minutes into the action. The Highlanders battled back to cut the deficit to one point at 15-14, but six straight points from Drew Morrow helped Geneseo extend the lead to 10 points at 24-14.
• Houghton was able to battle back once again before the end of the first half, tying the game at 38 after the opening 20 minutes. Hofer and Morrow had a stellar first half offensively, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively.
• Neither team held more than a five point lead throughout the second half, and the score was tied at 65-65 heading to the final five minutes of action. The Highlanders struck first, going ahead 70-65, but some clutch stops on defense and four points between Colin Gentile and Josh Garelle cut the lead to 70-69 with just under three minutes left.
• Garelle continued his strong play down the stretch with a steal and fastbreak layup to give the Knights the one point lead at 71-70. However, Houghton was able to find a way to score down the stretch and took a three-point lead after back-to-back layups in the final minute. The Knights were unable to find the equalizing bucket they needed, and fell 74-73.

QUICK FACTS:

• Garelle led Geneseo in scoring with 17 points on 7-9 shooting from the field. He also led the team in rebounding with seven.
• Hofer (15), Morrow (13), and Robert Pericolosi (11) also chipped in double-digit points.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Geneseo will head to Alfred tomorrow for a 4 p.m. tip.