Men’s Basketball Posts 67-51 Victory Over Gallaudet

AURORA, N.Y. – The Wells College men's basketball team posted a 67-51 victory over the Bison of Gallaudet University on Saturday within the Frances Tarlton Farenthold Athletic Wing. With the victory, Wells improves to 8-11 overall on the year while the Bison drop to 6-11 on the season. The Express collect their seventh North Eastern Athletic Conference victory (7-5) while the Bison even their league record at 5-5 with the loss.

Senior Jonathan Hurtado (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led all Wells players with 15 total points, shooting 6-for-8 from the floor. Off the bench, senior Jonathan Bonds (Chicago, Ill.) racked up 11 total points after shooting 4-for-5 on the afternoon. Junior J.J. Walton (Ocala, Fla.) and classmate Shakeel Simmons (Brentwood, N.Y.) each pulled down five rebounds for the Express, tying for the team lead. Walton chipped in six total assists while senior Erich Kaempffe (North Rose, N.Y.) posted four helpers.

A three-point basket by Hurtado opened the scoring only 32 seconds into the contest, elevating the host Express to a 3-0 lead. Gallaudet countered with back-to-back three-point baskets to eventually create a 9-9 tie, but a Hurtado layup placed Wells on top for good by an 11-9 margin with 4:47 expired off of the first half clock. The Express capitalized for 11 points off of Gallaudet turnovers, holding the 11-to-5 edge in that category.

In the second half, Wells eventually built up a game-high 21 point lead with only 1:31 left in regulation time. The Express shot 47.1% in the second half alone, burying 24-of-51 shots from the floor as opposed to 15-of-40 shots (37.5%) for the visitors. Bonds accounted for 11 second half points in only 11 minutes of action off of the bench.

Gallaudet, who edged the Express by a 70-65 margin earlier this season on Sunday, Jan. 12, was led by Ben Coleman's 14 total points via four three-point baskets and two foul shots. Joshua McGriff struck for 11 points in 18 minutes of action off of the bench, pulling down eight rebounds for the Bison. Orion Palmer assisted five Gallaudet baskets, leading the team in that statistic.

The Express return to action Sunday, Feb. 2 as they host the Nittany Lions of Penn St.-Abington in a high noon contest at the Farenthold Athletic Wing.