The hosts led 12-7 early in the opening stages when sophomore forward Kazeem Babatunde knocked down a midrange jumper before the Lions roared back to seize a 20-18 advantage on a pair of freethrows from senior forward Ben Gallagher – who finished with 13 points.
The visitors held a 30-28 lead at the break. They widened the gap to 57-49 with just under six minutes remaining when Deeter tallied yet another layup in the post. The Bison retaliated with a run of its own, cutting the deficit to 57-55 with less than three minutes to play when junior forward Frank Jackson drove baseline for the layup just before the shot clock expired. However, the Lions were able to hold off the charge and Deeter hit a pair from the line to round the scoring out at 62-55.
In addition to Haney, Jackson chipped in with 10 points and four boards, while rookie Sekoe White notched nine points in 25 minutes. With the loss, Gallaudet drops to 2-2 overall, while the Lions improve to 2-2.
In the tournament opener, TCNJ routed SUNY-Old Westbury 83-54. Senior guard Mike Snyder led TCNJ with 16 points, while Panthers senior guard Sal Clark netted a game-high 18. Gallaudet returns to action against Old Westbury on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the consolation game, while TCNJ will matchup against Albright in the championship game at 3 p.m. The Gallaudet women’s tournament begins shortly thereafter at 6 p.m.