WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Keuka College Men's Basketball team earned their first North Eastern Athletic Conference victory of the season, defeating Gallaudet University 85-77 on Sunday.

Keuka College (2-8, 1-2 NEAC) was led by Elijah Smalls (Rome, N.Y. / Rome Free Academy) with 17 points. Nana Oteng (Queens, N.Y. / Martin Luther) finished with 13 points and both James Barnes (Rochester, N.Y. / University Prep) and Kyle Coffin (Newark Valley, N.Y. / Newark Valley) added 11 in the win.

Keuka College 85 at Gallaudet University 77

The Wolves came out fast, making their first three shots with Alex Medellin (Mesa, Ariz. / Desert Ridge) hit a three on the opening possession and Elijah Smalls drained a pair of jumpers. After the Bison got on the board, DJ Billings (Rochester, N.Y. / Greece Odyssey) hit back-to-back threes to extend the Keuka lead. The Wolves pushed their lead to nine midway through the half, but Gallaudet would cut it to four at 21-17. However, Keuka College continued to flow on offense. A three by Nana Oteng extended the Keuka lead to 10 points, 31-21, with four minutes left in the half. The Green and Gold continued to push and despite a Bison layup at the buzzer, Keuka led 38-26 at the break.

Keuka College extended their lead early in the second half, but the Bison did not go away. Switching to a press, Gallaudet was able to force Keuka into turnovers and cut into the deficit. The Bison cut the lead into single digits, but each time that the gap narrowed, the Wolves were able to reestablish their advantage. Gallaudet would later shrink the margin again, but a three by Alex Medellin push Keuka back up 71-61 with five minutes left. Once again, Gallaudet dropped the margin to five points. Kyle Coffin responded with a three and Matthew Ciezki (Lancaster, N.Y. / St. Mary's) followed that with a steal and layup to push the lead back to 10 with two minutes left in regulation. The Green and Gold saw the game out for the 85-77 conference victory.

KC Notes:

• It was the first win for Keuka in their last five games with Gallaudet. The Wolves are now 4-7 all-time against the Bison
• As a team, Keuka made 13 threes, tying for second-most in program history
• Keuka College assisted on 21 of their 29 made baskets on Sunday
• Elijah Smalls had three shots from deep and Nana Oteng was a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc
• 11 points for Kyle Coffin was a career-high for the freshman
• With the win, Head Coach Thad Phillips tied George Wunder for second on the coaching wins list at Keuka with 77

Up Next for Keuka College: The stretch of road games concludes for Keuka College on Wednesday as the Wolves travel to SUNY Cobleskill to face the Fighting Tigers. Keuka College and SUNY Cobleskill have split their season series every year since the 2013-14 season.