WASHINGTON, D.C.. – Penn College punched its first-ever ticket to the North Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball playoffs with a 92-60 win over Gallaudet Tuesday. The Wildcats improved to 7-16 overall, 5-9 NEAC, while the Bison fell to 5-18, 5-9.

Penn College and Gallaudet entered Tuesday's game with identical 4-5 records in the NEAC South Division and tied for third place, in a conference that sends its top three teams from each division to the playoffs. Both teams finish the regular season this weekend against opponents in the North Division.

How it Happened: The Wildcats held a 12-10 lead six minutes into game, before they exploded for a 12-2 run – with six points from Ben Sosa-- to take a 24-14 advantage with 10:36 left. The Bison got as close as five, while Penn College took its largest lead, 43-29, on Ryan Lockman's tip-in at the buzzer to end the half.

PCT opened the second half with a 16-4 spurt to lead 57-31 on an Elijah Vazquez three with 16:32 left in the game. The Wildcats led by 20-plus points the remainder of the game.

Inside the Box: Sosa scored a game-high 25 points, pulled down a game-best 15 rebounds, and dished out a game-high six assists for Penn College. Elijah Vazquez finished with 21 points, Ryan Lockman added 15 and nine rebounds, Fred Young contributed with 11, and Carson Garvis pumped in 10 for Penn College.

Noah Valencia led Gallaudet with 19.

Outside the Box: "I'm very proud of our players and this team. Everyone stepped up and did what they could do to help the team win today," Penn College coach Geoff Hensley said. "From the guys on the court, to the guys on the bench, to the entire coaching staff... our team played a very high level of basketball and came up big in a huge win.
 
All our seniors did a fantastic job leading the team today. They kept the team focused and accomplished the mission: getting the win. It started with our defensive effort as we held them to shoot 29% from the floor and won the rebounding battle. With all our players engaged and ready, we forced them to take some tough shots.
 
"I thought the way we finished the first half and opened the second half really separated us. We finished the first half with some great buckets and big time stops.
 
"All-in-all, this was a great team effort and I'm very proud of our guys for getting the win and being the first Penn College men's basketball team to clinch a playoff berth. We have two big games this weekend we need to stay focused on and get ready for."

Up Next:.Penn College returns to action Friday, 6 p.m., at Keuka.