Canton, NY – Rashad Richardson (Rochester, NY) posted his first double-double of the season but visiting Houghton College used a late 7-0 run to pull away for an 86-79 win against the SUNY Canton men's basketball team on Friday evening.

Houghton (3-4) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and led by as many as six before the Roos (4-4) used a 15-0 run over a span of 4 minutes, 12 seconds, to take a convincing 27-18 lead after a Daniel Charlton (Queens, NY) layup in transition. Ibu Smith (Brooklyn, NY) drained a pair of treys, while Romario Fletcher (Queens, NY) also added a dunk during the run.

The Higlanders responded with their own 8-0 spurt to cut the deficit to one. Houghton would tie the game but Canton did not relinquish the lead in the opening half as they took a 41-36 lead into intermission after a Fletcher layup just before the halftime buzzer.

Victor Bakre (Bronx, NY) paced the Roos with nine points in the opening half, while Fletcher finished with eight as five different players had six or more points for Canton. Phil Pellegrino led the Highlanders with 10 first half points.

Canton extended its lead to as many as eight early in the second half after a Walt Jeter (Fort Drum, NY) three-pointer. Over the next five minutes Houghton chipped away at the deficit and took its first lead of the half with 13:08 remaining after a Pellegrino trey.

Houghton opened a six point advantage, but the Roos battled back with a pair of hits from long distance from Adrian Williams (Brooklyn, NY) and Fletcher bookended around a Williams' free throw to take a 62-61 lead with 8:47 to play. The Roos built a three point advantage after layups from Smith and Fletcher but a Mike Clark trey tied the game with 6:04 to play.
With the game still tied with 4:31 remaining Houghton used a 7-0 run and held on down the stretch for the 86-79 victory.

Fletcher and Williams led the Roos with 20 points apiece, while Fletcher added 13 rebounds and a game-high four steals. Rashad Richardson posted his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Bakre added nine points, all in the first half. Smith posted a season-high eight points.

Pellegrino led all players with 26 points for Houghton, while Johnathan Stowe posted a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds. Dylan Lambert (21) and Mike Clark (18) also scored in double figures for the Highlanders.

The men's basketball team is off until December 17th when it visits the College at Old Westbury at 12 p.m. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the SUNY Canton Athletics department by "liking" us on Facebook and "following" our Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts.

About SUNY Canton
SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses, as well as 10 exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 15 athletic teams compete as members of the NCAA Division III and the USCAA.