Gallaudet begins New Year with 22-point victory

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Gallaudet University men's basketball team is glad the month of December is behind them and the New Year is here as the Bison snapped a three-game losing streak with a 22-point victory, 72-50, over Polytechnic (N.Y.) on Sunday evening at the Field House. The win is the first for the Bison since November 29, 2009, when they won the GU Holiday Tournament over Maryland Bible College.

The outcome on Sunday was never in doubt once Gallaudet (4-5) took a double-digit lead midway through the first half. GU raced out to a 11-2 lead and increased it to 15 points, 23-8, with 8:28 left before the half as Polytechnic (1-5) took a third timeout. The Bison outscored the Fighting Blue Jays 14-5 in the final four minutes of the first half as Gallaudet held a 23-point lead, 44-21, as the teams went into the break.

Sophomore Brandon McMillan (Frederick, Md.) drained four three-pointers in the first half to lead the Bison with 12 points while freshman Joshua Sisco (Spartanburg, S.C.) came off the bench and scored 10 points and added five rebounds in 12 minutes of action in the opening half.

Polytechnic cut the Bison lead to 10, 46-36, seven minutes into the second half but that would be as close as the Fighting Blue Jays would get. Gallaudet went on a 12-3 run in a span of six minutes to put the game away. GU was able to get 13 players game action in the first win of the New Year for the Buff and Blue.

Sisco led the way for Gallaudet with 20 points and nine rebounds while three players netted 12 points including McMillan, sophomore Tony Tatum (Birmingham, Ala.) and senior Johnny Jackson (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), who also had 11 rebounds.

GU shot 40.9 percent from the field (27-for-66) and 61.1 percent from the free-throw line (11-for-18) while Polytechnic was limited to 33.3 percent from the field (19-for-57). GU outrebounded Polytechnic by 16, 51-35. Sisco helped Gallaudet hold a 20-point advantage over Polytechnic in bench points (36 to 16).

The Bison will next host Salisbury University on Wednesday, January 6, in an 8 p.m. Capital Athletic Conference game. Both teams seek their first conference win of the 2009-10 season.