RELEASE DATE: 12/09/04

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BENSON LEADS MOUNTIES TO 74-53 WIN OVER HOUGHTON – SENIOR SCORES GAME HIGH 23 POINTS

MANSFIELD – Jason Benson scored 21 of his game high 23 points in the second half to lead Mansfield University to a 74-53 win over Houghton College at Decker Gymnasium on Thursday night.

After a sluggish first half, the Mountaineers held a slim 25-22 lead at intermission. Houghton pulled to 25-24 to start the second half before the Mountaineers went on a 21-4 run over the next seven minutes to take control of the game.

After shooting just 36% from the floor in the first half, the Mountaineer hit a blazing 58.1% of their shots in the final 20 minutes of play.

Benson added a game high nine rebounds and connected 8-of-12 attempts from the field while also dishing out three assists with three steals. David Hoopes added 11 points while Brian Bryant had 10 points and nine assists.

Adam Griggs kept Houghton in the game for much of the night with 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field.

Mansfield improves to 4-3 overall while Houghton falls to 1-7.

The Mountaineers will not play again until they travel to California (PA) on Dec. 21.

Newspaper Box Score

Houghton College vs Mansfield University

12-9-04 7:00 pm at Decker Gym

At Decker Gym

MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY 74, HOUGHTON COLLEGE 53

HOUGHTON COLLEGE (1-7)

Adam Griggs 9-11 0-0 21; Kenny Gethers 5-11 0-0 10; Lual D'Awol 3-7 0-0 6;

Corky McMullen 2-7 0-0 5; Matt Wood 1-4 1-2 3; Jon VanSkiver 1-3 0-0 3;

Anthony Haughton 1-2 0-1 3; Harry Aldrich 1-8 0-0 2; Joel Lord 0-1 0-0 0.

Totals 23-54 1-3 53.

MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY (4-3)

BENSON, Jason 8-12 7-9 23; HOOPES, David 4-8 2-2 11; BRYANT, Brian 5-9 0-0

10; COLLAZO, Carlos 4-6 2-4 10; WILLIAMS, Terrance 4-10 0-0 9; KRESS, Justin

2-5 0-0 4; HILL, Kevin 1-7 0-0 3; ANDERSON, Ian 1-2 0-0 2; FREY, Jeremy 0-3

2-2 2. Totals 29-62 13-17 74.

Houghton College..............   22   31  -   53

Mansfield University..........   25   49  -   74

3-point goals-Houghton College 6-15 (Adam Griggs 3-4; Anthony Haughton 1-2;

Jon VanSkiver 1-3; Corky McMullen 1-4; Harry Aldrich 0-1; Matt Wood 0-1),

Mansfield University 3-19 (WILLIAMS, Terrance 1-4; HOOPES, David 1-4; HILL,

Kevin 1-7; FREY, Jeremy 0-1; BRYANT, Brian 0-1; BENSON, Jason 0-2). Fouled

out--Houghton College-None, Mansfield University-None. Rebounds-Houghton

College 31 (Kenny Gethers 6), Mansfield University 37 (BENSON, Jason 9).

Assists-Houghton College 14 (Anthony Haughton 6), Mansfield University 22

(BRYANT, Brian 9). Total fouls-Houghton College 12, Mansfield University 13.

A-479