UDC Suffers Lopsided Defeat at Roberts Wesleyan

ROCHESTER, NY – Junior transfer forward Lenjo Kilo collected his fourth double-double of the season with team-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds, but the University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team suffered a lopsided, 84-52 loss to Roberts Wesleyan in East Coast Conference play at the Voller Athletic Center Friday night.

The Firebirds, with just six available players on the roster tonight, fell to 3-8 overall and 1-4 in league play while the Redhawks improved to 7-5 and evened their ECC mark at 3-3.

Kilo, who came into the night ranked 2^nd in the league in scoring and 4^th in rebounding, has scored in double-figures in all 11 of the Firebirds' games this season. Also carrying the scoring load were junior transfer guard Prince Ritson (Psychology – Greenbelt, MD/Bowie St.) with 12 points and sophomore guard Omar Abbas (Electrical Engineering – Alexandria, Egypt/Egyptian American HS) with 10 points.

Roberts Wesleyan, which had 10 reserves at its disposal, was led by starting forward Isaac Medeiros with a game-high 19 points and six rebounds and reserve freshman guard Darren Dixon with 10 points. The Redhawks had 12 different players enter the scoring column as they enjoyed a 52-2 disparity in bench points. Also, 13 different Redhawks pulled in at least one rebound as RWC won the rebounding battle, 39-29 which led to a 38-10 advantage in points in the paint.

Abbas knocked down a pair of free-throws for the game's first points, and later Ritson buried a three-pointer to give the Firebirds its second, and last lead of the game, 6-5 at the 13:56 mark. Medeiros' layup 30 seconds later put the Redhawks on top for good. A 12-3 RWC run turned a 9-8 edge into a comfortable 21-11 lead, and the hosts never looked back. The Redhawks led by as many as 18, but a jumper by UDC's sophomore forward Clenso Brannon III (Graphic Design – Washington, DC/College of Southern Maryland) accounted for the final points of the half as RWC led 34-18 at intermission.

The Redhawks opened the second half on a 9-2 run, culminating in a Medeiros layup to make it 43-20, and RWC would cruise to a lopsided victory.

The Firebirds will look to bounce back as they visit ECC newcomer, Daemen in Buffalo on Sunday, January 12^th.