READING, Pa. – Sophomore guard/forward Alex Ortman (Norway, Mich.) was nearly perfect on the court Wednesday night as he made 12 of 14 shots from the field as he led Gallaudet University to an 84-67 victory at Penn St.-Berks in a United East men's basketball game.

Gallaudet (2-12, 1-6 United East) earns its first conference win this season and the first conference victory for Bison Head Coach Sekoe White in his first season at the helm.

Ortman finished the game with a career-high 28 points to go with two assists and two steals. He went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line and was 1-for-2 from 3-point range.

Penn St.-Berks (4-13, 3-4 United East) jumped out to a quick 16-6 lead just four minutes into the game before Gallaudet flipped on the switch to get back into the game. The Bison outscored the Nittany Lions 15-2 over the next six minutes. GU led 33-30 at the half and then outscored the host by 14 points in the second half, 51-37. Ortman scored 15 of his 28 points in the final 18 minutes played.

"Adversity revealed who we are. Our guys chose to keep competing and play for each other. We maintained our poise, which led to our first conference win. This is the standard we will continue to build on," said White.

GU had five players in double figures led by Ortman's 28 points and sophomore guard Brandon Washington (Citronelle, Ala.) came off the bench to record 21 points as he made 7 of 8 shots from the field including two 3-pointers. Sophomore forward Wyatt Carlson (Hubertus, Wis.) tallied 16 points and nine rebounds and first-year forward Keanu Ray Boren (Frederick, Md.) netted 11 points. Sophomore guard Jory Valencia (Riverside, Calif.) passed out 10 assists as Gallaudet scored 50 points in the paint and recorded 21 points off 18 turnovers by the host.

The Nittany Lions' offense was led by a trio of players that scored 12 points each as Penn St.-Berks finished with 14 3-pointers but only scored 18 points down low.

UP NEXT
GU returns home to host Wilson College (5-13, 1-5 United East) this Saturday, Jan. 24, in a conference game with a new tip time of noon in the Field House.