ABINGTON, PA -- After a back-and-forth first half, the Penn State Abington Nittany Lions pulled away to defeat the Gallaudet Bison, 72-48, in a United East Conference men's basketball match-up.

The win improved Penn State Abington to 8-6 on the season and 2-3 in United East play while Gallaudet fell to 1-5 in conference play and 1-12 on the year.

The Nittany Lions led by just one, 27-26, at halftime, but ripped off 10 straight points to start the second half. Brian Randolph III got it going with a layup while Alex Podolski got inside for back-to-back buckets. Jomiloju Odumosu and Darrion Harris followed with layups for a 37-26 lead with 16:25 remaining.

Later in the half, the Nittany Lions went on another big run, this time an 18-2 spurt, to put the game away. Podolski came up clutch for Penn State Abington, scoring 12 points in the second half on 5-for-6 shooting. He finished the night with a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds. Randolph III and Kolby Miller followed with ten points each with Miller coming off the bench to hit five of seven shots from the field.  
 
While their offense was on fire in the second half (63.3 percent shooting from the field), it was the Nittany Lions' defense that sealed their win. They held the Bison to just 27.8 percent from the field, including 23.8 percent in the second half. Penn State Abington forced 24 turnovers and turned them into 28 points. Meanwhile, the bench was a key factor, scoring 31 of their 72 points.
 
For the Bison, guard Rory Lewis led the team with 17 points on 6-13 shooting. Forward Brandon Chung led the team with eight rebounds alongside ten points.
 
The Nittany Lions are back in action at home this Saturday, January 22 against conference foe Wells College at 1 p.m.