ROCHESTER, NY – Junior Jake Burgio led Nazareth in points (26) for the third straight game, as Nazareth broke a tie at halftime into a 78-65 victory over Houghton Saturday afternoon.  Chris Jones was a big factor for Nazareth as well, recording his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

Nazareth remains undefeated in conference play at 3-0 and moves to 8-4 overall.  The Golden Flyers will test their unblemished conference record on Tuesday night, traveling to East Avenue rival St. John Fisher (8-5 overall, 3-1 Empire 8). Fisher saw its six-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, falling 86-81 to Alfred. 

Burgio had 17 of his 26 points in the second half (11-for-18).

Stephen Gabel came alive in the second, slashing to the hoop for six straight Nazareth points, four from the foul line – he finished with nine points. A jumper from Burgio pushed Nazareth to its first double-digit lead, 68-58, at the midway point. 

Jones proved to come up with some timely traditional 3-point plays.  He notched his second in a three minute span to give Nazareth some cushion at 70-62 under the four minute mark. 

The closest Houghton came was six, however, Nazareth steadied its free throw shooting in the second (10-for-13) to close out the contest.

Cody Green had a strong first half, scoring eight of Nazareth's first 16 points, with an 18-foot jumper evening the score at 16 apiece near the midway point.   He finished the game with 17 points (7-for-13).

Nazareth left several points on the floor from the free throw line to begin the game, starting 5-for-12.

The Highlanders registered their largest lead of the half under the five minute mark, 32-21, capitalizing on Nazareth hitting a four minute scoring drought.

Houghton, however, caught a cold spell as well, with Nazareth closing out the final 4:15 on a 13-2 run to even the score at 34 apiece. 

Houghton's Dylan Lambert had a monster first half, recording a double-double with 18 points (7-for-13) and pulling down 10 rebounds. 

Brendan Broderick had a career-high six assists, paired with three points.