WASHINGTON – The Gallaudet University men's basketball team began a criticial stretch of their schedule here Tuesday night as the Bison entertained Bryn Athyn College in a North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) South Division tilt. The Bison broke open a close game late in the first half and dictated the tempo in the second half, building a lead as large as 36 points, en route to a 98-66 victory.

Gallaudet (15-6, 12-3 NEAC) has won five straight games and are in the midst of a five-game homestand. Tonight's game begins the home stretch of the regular-season where the Bison will play four games in six days.

GU jumped out to an early 12-2 lead thanks to junior center Joshua McGriff (Somerset, N.J.), who scored seven out of his 11 points within the first four minutes of the game. Bryn Athyn (5-19, 5-12 NEAC) quickly responded with a 19-9 run, propelled by four 3-pointers to knot the game at 21 with 10:09 left in the half.

The Bison, undeterred by the Lions' rally, turned up the pressure on defense and their shots started to fall through the net. GU countered with a 13-0 run, eight coming from senior guard Trey Gordon (Talladega, Ala.), en route to a 30-10 run to close out the first half. Gordon flirted with perfection, shooting 12 of 13 from the field and sank six shots from 3-point range. His lone miss came on a 3-point attempt with 2:58 remaining in the first half as Gordon would tie his career-high with 30 points on the night.

Junior guard Raymond Nelson (Riverside, Calif.) contributed 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting along with five assists and three steals. Senior guard Todd Bonheyo (Frederick, Md.) had an all-around game, dishing out a game-high 10 assists, scoring nine points and gathered seven rebounds. The Bison were able to empty out their bench in the second half as all 13 players that dressed saw valuable playing time.

Four players matched their season-high totals for points; including sophomore Dakota Kalis (Winter Haven, Fla.) with four points, sophomore Dalton Etkie (Austin, Texas) with three and freshmen Cody Crace (Westfield, Ind.) and Jamal Garner (Jacksonville, Ill.) with two.

The Lions were led by junior forward Christian Rivera who had a team-high 14 points. Freshman guard Rahim Washington contributed 12 points, three rebounds and led his team in steals (two). Sophomore center James Flagg added a team-high 10 rebounds and four blocks off the bench.

BISON TRACKS

• Sophomore Andy Cruz (Bronx, N.Y.) scored six points, grabbed 10 rebounds and passed out five assists
• McGriff made three blocks
• Freshman Jake Bonheyo (Frederick, Md.) made a career-high three assists, three rebounds
• James Steingieser (New Market, Md.) scored a season best four points
• Freshman Giovanni Maucere (Riverside, Calif.) netted a career-high five points
• Gallaudet gathered in a season-high 57 rebounds
• GU shot 50 percent (9 of 18) from beyond the 3-point arc for the  fourth time this season
• The Bison held Bryn Athyn to 31.2 percent from the field, the third-lowest mark for an opposing team this season
• Gallaudet enjoyed a 48-26 scoring advantage inside the paint
• Six Bison reserve players recorded a season-high minutes
• All 13 Bison players scored at least one point
• The Bison have scored at least 87 points in seven out of their last nine games

UP NEXT
Gallaudet will next host nationally-ranked Lancaster Bible College (22-0, 15-0 NEAC), No. 15 in the country, at the Field House on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 5 p.m. This marks the second meeting this season between the two schools. The Chargers defended their home court on Jan. 30 with a 91-73 victory over the Bison.