Box Score In February as the season winds down, there may not always be a big shot to point to that wins a game. Rather, it may be an offensive rebound or a key defensive stop that gets the job done. It may not be glamorous, but it gets the job done and in February, a win is a win, no matter how the job is completed.

Wednesday was one of those nights as Lancaster Bible's timely rebounding and solid defense helped them defeat Gallaudet, 66-61 at Horst Athletic Center. The win snaps a five-game losing streak to the Bison and gives the Chargers their fourth win in the past five games. 

The Chargers led 39-28 at halftime thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Naheer Mirza at the end of the half. The Bison came out firing in the second half however and used a 13-0 run to take a 41-39 lead before Albert Suniga restored the Chargers' lead, 42-41 with a 3-pointer of his own. 

Gallaudet would stretch their lead to 46-42 with 13:36 to play, but over the next 2:45, the Chargers used an 11-0 run to turn a four-point deficit into a seven-point lead. The game turned into a back-and-forth affair from that point, but a crucial part of the game occurred in the next two minutes when the Chargers held the ball for over a minute due in part to CJ Dunston's back-to-back offensive rebounds. The raucous Missions Conference Week crowd roared as Dunston grabbed his second rebound and they became even louder six minutes later when Suniga nailed a 3-pointer to give the Chargers a five-point lead, 61-56 with 3:40 to play.

Gallaudet went 4:28 without a point late in the game, but Stephen Dean's 3-pointer with 28 seconds to play cut the Bison deficit to four, 63-59. Lancaster Bible hit three of its final four free throws to ice the game and move one step closer to qualifying for the NEAC playoffs.

"We been talking about our defensive effort a lot lately and I thought we did a tremendous job defensively tonight," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Marshall Tague said. "We had some timely rebounds as well that really helped us."

Dunston finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, while Suniga finished with a team-high 16 points. Mirza added 11 points, while Luke Roundy had six points and Dondre Perry had eight points and three boards.

"A lot of guys hit shots tonight which really shows our depth," Tague said. "It's nice to finally beat Gallaudet after losing to them so many times in a row."

Gallaudet was led by Trey Gordon's game-high 23 points. The Bison (6-16, 5-10 NEAC) hit 18 shots from the field, but stayed in the game thanks to 12 of those 18 shots being 3-pointers. 

Morrisville State's loss to SUNYIT on Wednesday night upped the Chargers lead in the conference to 1 1/2 games with five games to play for the Chargers. Tague said the team cannot relax and must play hard down the stretch to earn the top spot in the conference which would give them home-court advantage in next month's NEAC playoffs.

"It's in our hands, but we are going to get teams' best shot," Tague said. "That starts with Keuka and Wells this weekend.  They are tough teams to play and we need to be ready."

The Chargers (13-7, 11-2 NEAC) will host Keuka on Friday night at 6 p.m. It is senior night and Lancaster Bible will honor its lone senior, Brian Cunningham, prior to the game.