POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - The 2023-24 men's basketball season began for Gallaudet University here Friday evening in the opening round of the Hochberg Family Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Vassar College. The Bison lost in a tough 59-48 battle with the host Brewers.
 
Gallaudet (0-1) jumped out to an early lead 9-3 and later increased it to 12-5 at the 11:40 mark after a 3-pointer made by sophomore Kyle Florio (Franklin, Mass.). Vassar (1-0) went on a 16-3 run to take a 21-15 lead with five minutes left before half. The Bison cut down the lead and only trailed 26-23 at the half.
 
Senior guard Rory Lewis (Frederick, Md.) and junior forward Brandon Chung (Kahului, Hawaii) led Gallaudet with 11 points each. Lewis was a perfect 5 of 5 at the free throw line. Chung added three rebounds and played only 21 minutes due to foul trouble (four fouls). Junior forward Blessed Mbogo (Silver Spring, Md.) was the third Bison to score double digits with 10 points and eight rebounds. Mbogo also scored perfect free throws with 6-for-6.
 
The Brewers had four players in double figures led by guards Shea Fitzgerald and Sacha Greenberg who scored 17 and 13 points, respectively. 
 
BISON TRACKS

• Gallaudet scored 20 points in the paint
• The Bison scored nine second chance points
• Sophomore guard Bruce Brewer Jr. (Santa Fe, N.M.) and junior center Alex Antsiferov (North Charleston, S.C.) added five points each 

UP NEXT
Gallaudet will play in Saturday's consolation game of the Hochberg Family Tip-Off Tournament against Purchase College (0-1) at 2 p.m. Haverford (1-0) squeaked out a 63-61 win over Purchase on Friday night.