WASHINGTON - For the first time in 55 years, Gallaudet University and Howard University faced off in men's basketball Tuesday night in Burr Gynasium on Howard's campus. Howard won the Battle of the Bison with a 96-38 victory over Gallaudet.

It was a special night for Gallaudet playing against a NCAA Division I program and to play at Howard, a HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), during Black History Month. Gallaudet and Howard are separated by a two-mile stretch of Florida Avenue in the District of Columbia traveling from Northeast to Northwest where HU's campus is located off Georgia Ave. Plus, the two schools share the same Bison mascot name.

Gallaudet (2-19) hung around with Howard (11-10) in the first half. Gallaudet scored the first basket when freshman guard Shannon Cotto (Lakewood, Ohio) made a jump shot off an assist from sophomore forward Lance Wood (Fishers, Ind.) just seven seconds in. GU then led 4-2 after junior guard Corey Smith (Miami, Fla.) made the first of his four shots in the game. Howard quickly went on a 15-6 run to take a 17-10 lead midway through the opening half. Smith made his third field goal to cut the lead to five, 17-12, but that would be as close as Gallaudet would get the rest of the way. Minutes later, Smith made a free throw to trim the Howard lead to six, 21-15, but the Howard Bison closed out the opening half on an 18-2 run to take a 39-17 lead into halftime.

Howard outscored Gallaudet 57-21 in the second half en route to the 96-38 victory.

Smith led Gallaudet with nine points, four rebounds and two steals. Wood added four points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and three assists and added a steal. Freshmen Alex Antsiferov (North Charleston, S.C.) and Enow Otto Jr. (Waldorf, Md.) scored four points each off the bench. Freshmen guards Jake Schwall (Fishers, Ind.) and Trevor Sterken (Grant, Mich.) recorded three points each.

Howard University forward Steve Settle netted a game-high 21 points as he made 9 of 11 shots from the field and grabbed five rebounds, made three steals, passed out two assists and had one block in the win.

This was the 12th all-time meeting between the two programs and the first since the 1966-67 season. Gallaudet is 1-11 all-time against Howard. The GU Bison defeated the HU Bison, 58-55, during the 1962-63 season. The two schools first played each other during the 1956-57 season, that began a run of 11 straight years these two programs played each other. 

BISON TRACKS

• Gallaudet played 13 players in the game
• GU received two or more points from 11 players
• The GU Bison scored 24 points in the paint
• Gallaudet got 18 points from its bench
• Gallaudet's 17-game streak with at least one 3-pointer was snapped

UP NEXT
Gallaudet (2-11 United East) jumps back into United East Conference play this Saturday, Feb. 12, at Penn State Harrisburg (17-2, 10-1 United East) for a 1 p.m. game.