Everything went the Bison's way today: Jon Mowl's free throws bounced on the rim and went in; Everytime a Gallaudet player was open under the basket the man with the ball found him for an easy lay-up; and the CAC's top 3-point shooting team was only 2-15 tonight, as Gallaudet never trailed tonight, defeating Salisbury 80-70.

Gallaudet outhustled and outran a much bigger Salisbury team that featured a 6'9 center and 6'7 back-up. Gallaudet continually made plays that brought the Gallaudet fans to their feet, whether it was Mowl feeding Sekoe White for an alley-oop while being shadowed by a Salisbury player running down the court, or Tony Tatum leaping in the air to knock a Salisbury lay-up 45 feet backwards over the Gallaudet bench, or Jeremy Thrush jumping over much taller players to put back a missed shot for 2 Gallaudet points.

There was no shortage of excitement in the Field House tonight as Gallaudet gave the students in attendance and the members of the Board of Trustees watching the game, something to talk about for three days, until the next and final time Gallaudet plays in the Field House this year.

In the first half, most of the Gallaudet points were on lay-ups as White, Thrush, Johnny Jackson, Jr., and Chi Pun got inside for easy lay-ups as Gallaudet jumped to a quick 19-8 lead. Salisbury kept double-teaming the man with the ball while playing man to man defense, and the open man kept running under the basket. Gallaudet also kept moving the ball around and had just 6 first half turnovers. 

After 13 minutes of play, the score was 23-11, with Gallaudet's defense allowing just 11 points in that time frame. Gallaudet kept running and went ahead by 15 points, 31-16. Salisbury closed the half with a 9-4 run to make the score 35-25.

Salisbury started the second half fast, scoring the half's first six points, to make the score 35-31 and Gallaudet called time-out. Immediately after the time-out, Mowl found White for a lay-up to give Gallaudet their first second half points and a six point lead. Salisbury kept it close, and the score was 37-35, before White made a free throw to give Gallaudet a 3 point lead.

On the next Salisbury possession, Mowl grabbed a rebound, and ran up the court with a Salisbury defender hanging on him. Mowl found White open for an alley-oop that reawoke the home crowd, and put Gallaudet up by 5. Thrush grabbed several big defensive rebounds in this stretch to prevent Salisbury from getting second shots, and on the Gallaudet end, a lay-up by Jackson and jumpshot by White gave Gallaudet a 44-35 lead.

Gallaudet kept scoring off big plays.  Tatum made another big one, when Salisbury grabbed a rebound off a missed Gallaudet shot and fell to the floor.  Most players would try to cause a jump ball in this situation.  Not Tatum.  He reached down and ripped the ball from the Salisbury player's arms and made a lay-up to give Gallaudet a 55-43 lead.

Kevin Berrigan also made a big play in this stretch when he grabbed a defensive rebound, drove the length of the court and fed Thrush who was fouled. This was big because Salisbury had several players in foul trouble throughout the game, and two different players fouled out.

Mowl also made a big save of a ball going out of bounds to keep one possession alive. Down the stretch Gallaudet scored most of their points on free throws as Salisbury kept fouling Gallaudet, but it didn't work, as Gallaudet had one of their best games from the free throw line going 26-34 for the game, including 8-10 from Mowl and 10-12 from White.

In his next to last home game, White finished with 24 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and one block. White mentioned how the team played together tonight and made sure they finished with a win for the home crowd. "We are bonding better as a team. We make better decisions. And the fan support helped us win. It was great to have them standing all the way."

Mowl finished with 13 points, 7 assists and 2 steals.  Mowl said, "We played together tonight.  We didn't let Salisbury catch up with us. "

Tatum finished with 19 points and 2 blocks.  Thrush had 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals. Jackson scored 10 points and dished out 4 assists.

Gallaudet Head Coach Jeb Barber mentioned how much the fan support helped Gallaudet tonight.  "I am proud of how our kids fought the entire game. Our great fans willed us to this big win tonight.  Thank you all for your support and I hope to see you all again on Saturday as we celebrate our 5 seniors before their final home game."

White wants a big crowd Saturday at his final home game.  He promised Gallaudet fans, "I will play until my heart falls out.  I don't want to have any regrets after my final home game." Mowl said, "I want to go out with a bang!"

Gallaudet (11-12) plays St. Mary's College at 4 pm Saturday in the Field House in the final home basketball game this year, and final home game for Sekoe White, Jon Mowl, Chi Pun, Anthony Baskin, and Justin Grisby. All five seniors will be honored before the game.