Gallaudet defeats Maryland Bible 72-69 to Win Gallaudet Holiday Tournament

There was no better place to be, to end the long Thanksgiving Weekend than inside the Gallaudet Field House, as Gallaudet and Maryland Bible College fought for 40 minutes for the Gallaudet Holiday Tournament Championship.   The first half was a 32-32 draw.  The second half was almost as close, with Gallaudet surviving 72-69 to win the Championship.

Maryland Bible jumped to an early 12-11 lead before a 3 pointer by Tournament Most Valuable Player Sekoe White put Gallaudet ahead 14-12. The teams traded the lead and there were several ties throughout the half, including 16-16, 24-24, 26-26, 28-28, 30-30, and 32-32.  Neither team led by more than 3 points in the half. Jeremy Thrush kept Gallaudet in the game with several important shots that kept Gallaudet close. Tony Tatum led Gallaudet with 12 points in the first half.

One difference from Saturday night's game, was field goal shooting . Saturday night Gallaudet shot 53.5% from the floor.  In the first half tonight, Gallaudet was just 11-31, but they grabbed 13 offensive rebounds which gave them plenty of second chances.

In the second half Gallaudet came out much more aggressive and more fired up.  Maryland Bible scored first to take a 34-32 lead.  Consecutive 3-pointers by Jon Mowl and White, followed by a Mowl drive to the basket and dish to Tony Tatum for a lay-up and it was off to the races for Gallaudet as they went on a 13-0 run to go ahead 45-34.  Maryland Bible kept missing their shots and Gallaudet got almost every rebound off missed Maryland Bible shots which prevented second chances.

Gallaudet continued to drive to the basket in the second half and either score, dish off for an easy basket, or draw a foul.  Gallaudet hit the bonus situation just 9 minutes into the second half and shot free throws the rest of the way. Gallaudet started the second half with a 19-4 run to take a 51-36 lead.

Maryland Bible slowly fought their way back and after a quick 3-pointer and a lay-up the score was 69-63 with 1:08 left.  Maryland Bible got the ball back quickly and made another lay-up to close the gap to 69-65. It took Maryland Bible 50 more seconds to close the gap to 70-69 with 18.5 seconds left. After breaking Maryland Bible's press, White was fouled with 12 seconds left. He made both free throws to give Gallaudet a 3 point lead.

Maryland Bible brought the ball up the court, but in the process of shooting a 3-pointer, stepped out of bounds with 1.7 seconds left. Before Gallaudet could inbound the ball, Kevin Berrigan was fouled.  He missed both free throws but rebounded his second miss and ran the clock out.

Tatum finished with 19 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Mowl. White finished with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Terry Hosley from Maryland Bible scored 24 points, dished out 6 assists, and made 3 steals and was also named to the All-Tournament team.

After the game, White praised the effort by Hosley.  "We have to give Terry credit. We couldn't stop him. He played his game and kept the game alive for Maryland Bible. "

White also praised the team and Coach Jeb Barber.  "Coach Jeb said if we play together we will win. Coach Jeb did a great job of preparing us and we couldn't have been better prepared. Maryland Bible gave us everything they have."

Coach Barber also praised Maryland Bible after the game.  "This was a tough test for our team.  I am happy we got the win, but there are also several things we need to work on in practice as we get ready for CAC competition. Everyone we play will step up their game against us, and we have to do the same."

After the game, White gave his MVP award to his father who came from Kentucky to watch the Tournament.  "It's the first time my dad has seen me play in two years, and it helped fire me up."

With the win, Gallaudet is 4-0. They play 5 away games in the month of December, starting with Marymount University December 3 at 8 pm. Their next home game will be January 7 vs. Hood College at 8 pm.