Junior guard C.J. Hunt was the lone Tomcat to finish in double figures with 12. Junior forward Stephen Laird added nine while senior guard Daryl Moore and freshman guard Gary Gates each added eight, respectively.
Thiel took an early 6-5 lead on a Moore jumper at the 17:50 mark of the opening half, but the Highlanders (2-9) came back with a 12-0 run over the next 3:25 to go up 11 (17-6). After being down by as many as 19 (29-10) the Tomcats finished the half on a 10-4 run to trail by 13 (33-20) going into the break.
Houghton extended its lead to as many as 22 (52-30) midway through second half. Thiel strung together a 24-14 run over the final 11:22 but it wasn't enough to overcome the Highlanders lead.
Kenny Gethers paced the Highlanders with 13 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Luol D'Awol added 13 and nine boards.
Houghton finished the game shooting 45.6 percent (26-57) from the field while limiting the Tomcats' offense to just 35.7 percent (20-56) from the floor. The Highlanders also held a 40-24 advantage on the boards.
Thiel returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 5 when it hosts Juniata College. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Houghton College vs Thiel College 12/22/04 1:00 p.m. at Muskingum College At Muskingum College HOUGHTON COLLEGE 66, THIEL COLLEGE 54 HOUGHTON COLLEGE (2-9) Kenny Gethers 5-11 3-3 13; Lual D'Awol 6-10 1-2 13; Corky McMullen 3-9 2-2 11; Adam Griggs 5-9 0-0 11; Allen Goodman 4-4 0-0 9; Matt Wood 2-3 1-1 5; Harry Aldrich 1-6 0-0 3; Anthony Haughton 0-3 1-2 1; Aaron Morley 0-0 0-0 0; Joel Lord 0-1 0-0 0; Jon VanSkiver 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-57 8-10 66. THIEL COLLEGE (4-7) CJ Hunt 5-13 0-0 12; Stephen Laird 3-6 0-0 9; Gary Gates 2-5 4-4 8; Daryl Moore 3-7 2-2 8; Joe Herrmann 2-7 0-0 5; Ross Watson 1-3 1-3 3; Max Slater 1-3 1-2 3; Henry Passerrello 1-4 0-0 2; Percy Sweeting 1-1 0-0 2; Brad Bowman 1-2 0-0 2; Nick Mihalik 0-1 0-0 0; Damien Williams 0-2 0-0 0; Alberic Kande 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 8-11 54. Houghton College.............. 33 33 - 66 Thiel College................. 20 34 - 54 3-point goals-Houghton College 6-16 (Corky McMullen 3-7; Allen Goodman 1-1; Harry Aldrich 1-1; Adam Griggs 1-2; Jon VanSkiver 0-1; Anthony Haughton 0-3; Matt Wood 0-1), Thiel College 6-22 (Stephen Laird 3-4; CJ Hunt 2-6; Joe Herrmann 1-3; Henry Passerrello 0-2; Brad Bowman 0-1; Damien Williams 0-2; Daryl Moore 0-1; Gary Gates 0-3). Fouled out--Houghton College-None, Thiel College-None. Rebounds-Houghton College 40 (Kenny Gethers 17), Thiel College 24 (Henry Passerrello 6). Assists-Houghton College 21 (Harry Aldrich 7), Thiel College 15 (Daryl Moore 5). Total fouls-Houghton College 13, Thiel College 13. A-59