WASHINGTON - The Gallaudet University men's basketball held on to defeat Penn St.-Abington here Wednesday evening in the Field House as the Bison prevailed 67-65 in a North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) game. The Bison played inspired on the one-year anniversary of the passing of longtime assistant coach  John Charles "Bird" Perry, '96.

Gallaudet (2-11, 2-2 NEAC) came out on fire and scored the first eight points and 18 of the first 23 points as the Bison led 18-5  just five minutes into the contest. Senior guard Noah Valencia (Riverside, Calif.) netted 16 of his game-high 22 points during that run. Valencia was a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range and even converted a 4-point play after he made a 3-pointer and got fouled at the 15:04 mark. 

Penn St.-Abington (7-6, 2-2 NEAC) contained Valencia for the remainder of the game but his backcourt partner Preston Kelly (Fishers, Ind.) kept pace and scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half. The Nittany Lions slowly chipped away at the Bison lead and was able to cut the margin down to four, 35-31, by halftime.

In the second half, the Nittany Lions took a brief two-point lead, 41-39, at the 14:34 mark before Gallaudet went on an 11-0 run to regain the lead for good.

Penn St.-Abington had two chances to win the game in the waning seconds but both 3-point shots didn't fall. 

Valencia nearly recorded a triple-double as he grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and passed out nine assists. Kelly ripped down seven boards while sophomore forward Matt Sherman (Angora, Minn.) scored seven points and senior center Steve Valencia-Biskupiak (Riverside, Calif.) tallied six points and four rebounds.

The Nittany Lions were led by their bench that scored 38 of the team's 65 points. Lexuus Fasce and Alex Podolski came off the pine to tally 15 and 10 points, respectively.

BISON TRACKS

• Gallaudet led for over 36 minutes
• The game featured three ties and two lead changes
• GU scored 15 points off 11 turnovers committed by Penn St.-Abington
• Gallaudet only shot 50 percent (12-for-24) from the free throw line
• The Nittany Lions held a 44-34 edge in rebounds

UP NEXT
Gallaudet will hit the road and travel to Reading, Pa., on Saturday, Jan. 18, to face Penn St.-Berks (0-12, 0-4 NEAC) at 1 p.m.