HOUGHTON, N.Y. — The Keuka College Men's Basketball team overcame a deficit and scored 61 points in the second half to defeat Houghton University 92-71 on the road on Thursday night.  

Alijah Ellis (Portsmouth, Va. / Indian River / Fork Union Military Academy) led Keuka College (7-8, 5-3 Empire 8) with a career-high 18 points. Devin Milton (Opelousas, La. / Beau Chene) and Christian Sage (Owego, N.Y. / Owego Free Academy) each added 16 points and Jaden Keasey (Newport News, Va. / Menchville) finished with 12 in the win.

Keuka College 92 at Houghton University 71

The Wolves opened slow on the offensive end, scoring only five points over the first seven minutes of play. However, Keuka played well on the defensive end, holding Houghton to only 13 points to keep the game close. The Highlanders were hot from three, making seven in the opening 20 minutes. Back-to-back triples pushed their lead to 13 at 22-9, their largest lead of the game. Ezeke Pulliam (Altamont, N.Y. / Berne-Knox-Westerlo) found Jaden Keasey down low for the layup to get the ball rolling for the Wolves. Keuka continued to charge back late in the half. Keasey had a steal and layup. That was followed by a layup by Devin Milton to cut it to two, 29-27. Keuka later tied it up as Christian Sage stole the ball and Mac Creek (Tampa, Fla. / Cambridge Christian) found Alijah Ellis for a jumper to tie the game at 31-31. However, Houghton held the Wolves off the board for the final four minutes of the half to lead 39-31 at the break.

Houghton led by 10 early in the half, but Keuka went on a run. It started with Alijah Ellis making a three-point play and Christian Sage following it with a three-pointer. A jumper by Ellis, assisted by Sage, tied the game at 45-45, but the Wolves weren't done. Threes by Mason VanDeMortel (Newark, N.Y. / Newark) and Christian Sage were a part of the run as Keuka College scored 18 straight to take a 53-45 lead. The run was all in just over three minutes of gameplay. Houghton snapped the streak with a three, but Mac Creek answered with back-to-back triples. That sparked a 12-0 spurt for the Wolves. In total, Keuka College outscored Houghton University 30-3 in a six-minute and thirty-second span of the second half. The Wolves played with the lead the rest of the game, holding the margin in the twenties as Keuka College defeated Houghton 92-71.

KC Notes:

• Keuka College completes the season sweep of the Highlanders and is 15-6 all-time against Houghton
• The 13-point comeback tied for the ninth-largest in the last 20 years for the Wolves
• 61 points in the second half is the third-most points in a half in program history and the most since December 2005 when Keuka scored 66 against the Albany College of Pharmacy
• Christian Sage and Devin Milton each only had one basket in the first half and the duo finished with 16 total points
• With his 16 points, Devin Milton continued his climb up the scoring list at Keuka College. Milton now has 1,389 points to sit in sole possession of second on the career list
• Mason VanDeMortel led the Wolves with eight rebounds to go with his eight points
• The Green and Gold did a good job at moving the ball. Keuka College had 28 assists, tying for fourth most in a game in program history
• Mac Creek led the Wolves with seven assists and Alijah Ellis was right behind him with six. Both were new career highs

Up Next for Keuka College: After going 2-1 on their recent three-game road trip, Keuka College returns home on Tuesday, Jan. 30 to host St. John Fisher University. The Wolves had a lead over the Cardinals in the first half the first time they played before Fisher came back to defeat Keuka. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.