WASHINGTON - The goal was clear to both teams here Tuesday night. Win and you're in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) men's basketball tournament next week.

Gallaudet University (5-18, 5-9 NEAC) had a golden opportunity to make the postseason but coughed up the chance to play next week as they ran into a hot-shooting Penn College (7-16, 5-9 NEAC) squad and lost, 92-60. The 32-point loss is the third largest this season for the Bison.

Penn College makes the NEAC tournament for the first time in program history as the Wildcats are now 5-5 in South Division play while Gallaudet is now 4-6 in divisional play. 

The Wildcats led from start-to-finish as they made 34 of 65 shots (52.3 percent) from the field, including 14 3-pointers, and led 43-29 at the half and outscored the Bison, 49-31, in the second half. 

Senior guard Noah Valencia (Riverside, Calif.) led the Bison with 19 points as he was guarded tightly by the Wildcat defense and only made 5 of 19 shots from the field. Valencia moved up to No. 4 on the all-time scoring list as he has an even 1,800 career points. Senior center Steve Valencia-Biskupiak (Riverside, Calif.) added nine points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Sophomore Matt Sherman (Angora, Minn.) tallied eight points and six rebounds. 

Penn College had five players in double digits led by guard Ben Sosa's double-double with 25 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. 

Prior to the start of the game, the men's basketball program paid tribute to its senior class. The group included Valencia, Valencia-Biskupiak, Sherman and junior Giovanni Maucere (Studio City, Calif.) along with two four-year team managers in Colton Crace and Jomar Figueroa. 

BISON TRACKS

• Gallaudet held a 49-41 edge in rebounds
• GU scored 26 points in the paint
• Penn College swept the season series
• The Wildcats won 74-60 back on Jan. 25
• This is the second consecutive year the Bison have missed the NEAC tournament

UP NEXT
GU will close out the season on the road this weekend in New York. The Bison will next face SUNY Cobleskill (14-9, 8-6 NEAC) on Friday, Feb. 21, at 5 p.m.