ABINGTON, Pa. - The Gallaudet University men's basketball team earned a much needed conference win on the road Tuesday night as the Bison defeated Penn St.-Abington, 72-67, in a North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) South Division game.

Gallaudet (6-13, 6-5 NEAC) moves ahead of Penn St.-Abington (7-10, 5-5 NEAC) for third-place in the NEAC South Division with tonight's win.

The Bison quickly jumped out to a 10-point lead just over five minutes into the game. GU continued to score at will on the Nittany Lions as they led by as much as 18 points, 31-13, at the 9:34 mark after sophomore guard Noah Valencia (Riverside, Calif.) made a three-pointer. 

GU took a 41-29 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Gallaudet held a double-digit lead for the majority of the half until the Nittany Lions began to make long-distance shots from three-point range. Several three-pointers got Penn St.-Abington to tie the game at 59 with 4:54 left in regulation.

The Bison were able to fend off the Nittany Lions, in the end, as GU made seven free throws in the waning seconds.

Senior forward Andy Cruz (Bronx, N.Y.) led the way with 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Valencia finished with 19 points while freshman Preston Kelly (Fishers, Ind.) recorded his first double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds to go with five assists and four steals.

Penn St.-Abington was led by Devin Hill's 19-point game as he made 5 of 8 three-pointers while fellow guard Pernell Ghee chipped in 11 points in the loss. Hill scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half.

BISON TRACKS

• Junior guard Jawaun Jackson (Downey, Calif.) added seven points
• Freshman center Lance Wood (Fishers, Ind.) scored eight points off the bench
• Gallaudet shot 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the field
• GU outscored Penn St.-Abington 34-16 in points in the paint
• The Nittany Lions held a slim 44-43 edge in rebounds
• The game featured one tie and six lead changes

UP NEXT
Gallaudet will head north this weekend to face the top two teams in the NEAC North Division. The Bison will first face Morrisville State College (11-7, 9-1 NEAC) on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 1 p.m.