Depleted Firebirds Squad Falls to LIU Post, 75-62

WASHINGTON, DC – Minus its two top scorers, its second-leading rebounder, and a reserve guard, the University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team fell to East Coast Conference foe LIU Post, 75-62 on Saturday afternoon at UDC Gym.

Senior guards Michael Terry (Criminal Justice – Philadelphia, PA/Boston U) and Quasim Jones (Business Management – Philadelphia, PA/Johnson CC), senior forward Ziad Ashmawy (Economics – Cairo, Egpyt/American City College) and junior guard Din Moore (Economics – Brooklyn, NY/Garrett College) were all out of the lineup for first-year head coach Mike Riley as the Firebirds hosted a team that collected five first-place votes and was picked to finish as the runner-up in the East Coast Conference in the pre-season coaches' poll. UDC fell to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the ECC with today's loss while the Pioneers improved to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in league play.

Freshman guard Reggie Sidbury (Social Work – Landover, MD/Charles Herbert Flowers HS) led the Firebirds with a season-high 20 points and a game-high three blocked shots. Junior transfer forward Lenjo Kilo (Biology – Silver Spring, MD/Seton Hill) registered 15 points and seven rebounds and junior transfer guard Prince Ritson (Psychology – Greenbelt, MD/Bowie St.) added 10 points and a game-high six assists. Freshman guard Kevin Campbell (Biology – Washington, DC/Woodrow Wilson HS) played a season-high 17 minutes off the bench for UDC and contributed a season-high nine points, including a perfect 7-of-7 shooting performance at the free-throw line.

LIU Post was led by two-time reigning All-ECC performer Vaughn Allen, who registered game-highs of 23 points and eight rebounds to go with two blocked shots and two steals. P.J. Torres added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Akosa Maduegbunam pitched in 13 points in 15 minutes off of the bench.

Both teams shot just 34-percent from the field, but the Pioneers feasted at the free-throw line, making 27-of-34 (79-percent) at the stripe. UDC, meanwhile, shot an impressive 93-percent at the line, but took far fewer attempts (14-of-15). LIU Post also had a commanding edge inside, out-rebounding the Firebirds, 50-35 and out-scoring them 24-18 in the paint. Also, with four reserves compared to UDC's two, the Pioneers benefitted from a 27-11 disparity in bench points.

Kilo and Ritson scored five and four points, respectively in the opening minutes of action to help the Firebirds race out to a 14-7 lead with almost 10 minutes gone by. UDC still led 16-10 at the 8:41 mark after a Sidbury jumper, but LIU Post took control of the game with an 18-2 blitz in a little less than a four-minute span. Allen's conventional three-point play on an and-one layup made it 28-18 Pioneers with 4:48 left in the first half. The Firebirds cut into that lead with a 6-0 run, but LIU Post ended the half on an 8-2 run to take its largest lead of the half at intermission, 38-26.

The Pioneers wasted no time putting the game away in the second half, as they opened on a 10-2 run and took their largest lead of the afternoon at the 15:19 mark, 46-28. UDC showed no quit though, fighting its way back to within 10 points courtesy of a 13-5 run culminating in a Sidbury three-pointer at the 10:26 mark. The Firebirds got as close as a nine-point deficit (69-60) at the 1:36 mark after Campbell converted three consecutive foul shots after a three-point shooting foul, but LIU Post scored six of the game's final eight points to come away with a 13-point margin of victory.

The Firebirds will look to end their three-game losing skid as they visit their cross town rival Bowie St. on Wednesday, December 11^th at 7:30 p.m.