Second Half Collapse Leads to Overtime Firebirds Loss vs. Goldey-Beacom

WILMINGTON, DE – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team was defeated in overtime by regional foe Goldey-Beacom, 77-73 in the final game of the East Coast Conference vs. Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Challenge on Saturday night at the Joseph West Jones Center.

The Firebirds (0-2) looked well on their way to earning their first win of the season and first road win since 2012 when they led by as many as 20 points in the first half. UDC, which never trailed GBC until less than five minutes remaining in regulation,  was outscored 44-30 in the second half, as the Lightning (2-0) forced overtime, and eventually won the game by a four-point margin.

UDC reserves Masner Beauplan (Business Management – East Orange, NJ/Winslow Township) and Geran Pope (Political Science – Washington, DC/Virginia Union) led the Firebird charge. Beauplan, a freshman guard, finished with 18 points on 7-of-17 FG shooting while Pope, a junior forward, notched his second consecutive double-double – recording game-highs of 19 points and 16 rebounds.

Starting guards Quasim Jones (Mass Media Arts – Philadelphia, PA/Johnson CC) and Kory Cooley (Art – Silver Spring, MD/Calvin Coolidge HS) added 13 and 10 points, respectively, while fellow backcourt mate Michael Terry (Criminal Justice – Philadelphia, PA/Boston U) registered a career-high 10 rebounds to go with five points.

Three of Goldey-Beacom's starters reached double-figures in the scoring column, including Joey Getz (19 points), Daniel Cooper (16 points, seven rebounds) and Domineek Owens (11 points, five rebounds). After shooting just 26-percent from the field in the first half, the Lightning shot 47-percent in the second half and 80-percent (4-of-5) in the overtime session to complete the comeback victory on their home floor.

The Firebirds had a sizeable rebounding advantage (54-38) and out-shot GBC 46-percent to 39-percent for the game, but were undone by the 27 points scored by the Lightning off of 20 UDC turnovers.

Led by Jones and Beauplan early on, the Firebirds raced out to an early 18-4 lead as they held the Lightning to 2-of-14 shooting from the field in the first nine minutes of regulation. Still leading 22-12 near the six-minute mark, UDC went on an 11-1 charge, culminating in a jumper by Beauplan to give the Firebirds their largest lead of the night, 33-13 with 2:30 remaining in the first half. Momentum would begin to swing back in the Lightning's favor, however, when they ended the first half on an 8-2 surge, pulling within 35-21.

With the momentum on its side at the start of the second half, Goldey-Beacom opened on an 11-2 run to close within five, 37-32 with 14:38 left to play in regulation. Beauplan answered for UDC, scoring six points during an 8-0 Firebirds charge which pushed their lead back up to 13, 45-32.

UDC still led by 11 with 9:31 remaining in the second half when things began to quickly unravel for the visiting Firebirds. The Lightning first scored nine of the game's next 12 points to close within five, 52-47 near the seven-minute mark. Then, following a three-pointer by Cooley to make it an eight-point game, GBC went on an 11-0 surge to take its first lead of the night, 58-57 with 4:44 remaining.

The Firebirds responded with back-to-back layups by Pope and Cooley to regain the lead, 61-58, and later a jumper by Pope helped them maintain a three-point advantage, 63-60 at the three-minute mark. But back came the Lightning, as Joey Getz converted a layup at the 1:53 mark, and then 1-of-2 at the free-throw line at the 1:20 mark to force the game's first tie, 63-all. Then, a Getz steal led to a layup by Domineek Owens, which put Goldey-Beacom in front, 65-63 with 1:09 left. Jones drew a foul with 34 ticks on the clock, and calmly sank both free-throws to force another tie, 65-all. Getz missed the potential game-winning jumper with five seconds remaining, and the game was sent to overtime.

The two teams traded baskets early on in the overtime session, but a 5-0 Lightning run beginning at the 2:11 mark, helped GBC claim a 74-70 lead with 1:18 showing on the clock. Over the next 30 seconds, the Firebirds misfired on two field goals and three of four free-throws, as they missed crucial opportunities to keep pace with GBC. Later, with just 27 seconds remaining, Terry sank a pair of free-throws to bring UDC within one, 74-73. While GBC made just 3-of-6 free-throws in the final 25 seconds of the game, UDC could do nothing with its final two possessions – turning the ball over and misfiring on a three-pointer. Therefore, the Lightning went on to escape with a 77-73 victory.

Next up, UDC hosts longtime rival Bowie State in its season home opener on Wednesday, November 19^th at 7 p.m.