WASHINGTON – The Penn State Harrisburg Lions men's basketball team defeated the Gallaudet Bison, 80-66, here Wednesday night in a United East conference game on Padden Court in the Field House.

The Lions took the lead five minutes into the first half and never looked back. Gallaudet fell behind by 21 points with 3:19 remaining in the half but fought back to narrow the lead to 14 points by halftime. The two teams played to a 43-43 tie in the second half, so the Lions' margin of victory remained at 14 points.

First-year player Alex Ortman (Norway, Mich.) led all scorers with 24 points, shooting 7-9 from the foul line. Fellow first-year player Jory Valencia (Riverside, Cali.) had 14 points, and sophomore Kalib Jones (Frederick, Md.) had 10.

The Lions' Chris Henderson had 23 points, with four 3-pointers. Dylan Moore contributed 15 points. As a team, the Lions had ten 3-point baskets and shot 10-for-12 from the free-throw line. The Lions (3-5, 1-1 United East) also dominated off the boards, with 35 rebounds to Gallaudet's 18.

Even with three players in double figures, the Bison (0-8, 0-2 United East) could not solve their long-standing curse when playing the Lions. The two teams first met in 2010, and Penn St.-Harrisburg has a 13-3 edge, with a seven-game winning streak.

NEXT UP
The Bison are on the road for the rest of December. They play Penn College (3-5, 1-0 United East) on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 3 p.m.in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Their last two games before winter break are on Dec. 15 against Oglethorpe University and Dec. 17 against Piedmont College. Both games are at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia.