HOUGHTON, N.Y. – The Hilbert College men's basketball team suffered a 71-65 non-conference defeat at Houghton College tonight at the Nielsen Center.

The Hawks' second half rally fell short of time as their 11-point half time deficit was too much to recover from.

Jalen Smith led the Hawks with 19 points and David Arlaud chipped in 11 after going 5-for-6 from the floor.  He added five rebounds and a team-best two steals.

Five different Hilbert players trailed with six points each while Hunter Martineau was credited with six assists and Joseph Braniecki tagged with seven rebounds.

The Highlanders were led by Dylan Lambert who tallied 19 points (11-20, 4-5 from deep) and Carl Holmes earned game-high honors with nine assists.

Twice David Arlaud lifted Hilbert to a one-point lead in the first four minutes of the game.  Hunter Martineau extended the score to three at 13:40, but the Highlanders went on a 17-2 run and built a 29-15 lead with just over five minutes remaining before the horn. Tyler Aquilina's long 3-pointer cut the deficit to under 10, but the hosts stretched it back to double figures at the half.

Jalen Smith started the second-half comeback with  eight straight points all inside the paint or from the foul line.  Arlaud's lay-up made it a five-point game (44-39) just five minutes into the second period.

Five minutes later, the Highlanders regained a 12-point lead, but Hilbert battled back.

Jonathan Jackson started and finished the 16-7 Hilbert run which brought the Hawks within three, 62-59, with about four minutes to go.  Houghton closed the game shooting 3-for-4 from the floor while Hilbert went 2-for-5 in defeat.

The Hawks (1-2) return to action this Saturday, November 25 when they welcome Alfred University to the Hafner for a 2pm double-header game with women.

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all your Hilbert Hawks scores and awards by following @HilbertAthletic on Twitter and by liking the "Hilbert College Athletics" Facebook page.  Additionally fans of the Hawks who have an Apple device can receive push notification from the newly created Hilbert College Hawks iOS SIDEARM mobile App which can be found in the Apple Store and ITunes.