LANCASTER, Pa. - Gallaudet University men's basketball began the new year here Tuesday night in a key North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) contest against Lancaster Bible College at the Horst Athletic Center. The Bison came up short and lost the close affair, 78-71.

Gallaudet (2-10, 2-3 NEAC) kept the game close, throughout, but never regained the lead after it took a 23-20 lead on a made three-pointer by sophomore guard Noah Valencia (Riverside, Calif.) at the 6:41 mark in the first half.

Lancaster Bible (9-4, 5-0 NEAC) closed out the first 20 minutes of the game on a 16-7 run as the host led 36-30 at intermission.

In the second half, Gallaudet kept Lancaster Bible at bay as the lead never got out-of-reach. The Bison pulled to within three, 62-59, on a made three-pointer by freshman Preston Kelly (Fishers, Ind.) with 6:06 left in regulation.

GU never was able to get the lead back. 

Valencia made one of his eight shots on the night with 3:55 left to cut the Charger lead back to three, 68-65, after it jumped up to seven. 

LBC closed things out by making free throws down the stretch.

Valencia finished with a game-high 25 points as he made 8 of 12 shots from the floor including going 4-for-7 from three-point range. Senior forward Andy Cruz (Bronx, N.Y.) added 15 points while junior Jawaun Jackson (Downey, Calif.) scored 10.

GU shot 56.3 percent from the field (27 of 48) and three-point range (9 of 16) in the game.

Lancaster Bible was paced by Herbie Brown's 21 points and Austin Brown's 17 points.

BISON TRACKS

• Kelly finished with nine points and seven rebounds
• Sophomore Trace Martin (Shingle Springs, Calif.) scored seven points off the bench
• GU has lost five straight
• The Bison were outrebounded by five, 31-26
• The Chargers held a 22-2 edge in second-chance points
• The series record is now 8-8 between the two teams

UP NEXT
Gallaudet returns home and will host Wells College (3-9, 1-2 NEAC) on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 1 p.m. in a conference game.