UDC Downed by Nyack, 74-60
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nyack (2-1) | 38 | 36 | 74 |
|
Dist. Columbia (0-4) | 23 | 37 | 60 |
WASHINGTON, DC – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team was defeated by regional foe Nyack, 74-60 on Saturday afternoon at the UDC Sports Complex.
The Firebirds (0-4) were led offensively by junior forward Geran Pope (Political Science – Washington, DC/Virginia Union), who was one rebound shy of his 3rd double-double of the season with team-highs of 18 points and nine rebounds. Pope shot 8-of-10 from the field and added two steals defensively. Also, freshman guard Kory Cooley (Art – Silver Spring, MD/Calvin Coolidge HS) came off the bench to register nine points and four rebounds.
Nyack (2-1) won its second straight game thanks in large part to outstanding efforts by forward Nick Moore and guard Chris Hampton. Moore had game-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds while Hampton shot 7-of-8 from the field (3-of-4 from long range) and finished with 20 points.
While neither team shot well from three-point range or the free-throw line, the Warriors out-shot UDC 55-percent to 37-percent from the field and had a 37-32 edge in rebounds.
Moore and Hampton combined for Nyack's first 11 points of the game as the Warriors game-opening charge led to an early 11-3 lead nearly five minutes into the action. Two consecutive conventional three-point plays on and-one layups by Pope helped UDC stay within seven, 17-10 just past the 12-minute mark, once again Moore and Hampton scored four points apiece during an 8-0 run to extend Nyack's lead to 25-11 at the nine-minute mark. The Warriors went on to take a 15-point lead into halftime, 38-23.
UDC kept pace with Nyack for the first eight minutes of the second half, with Pope converting consecutive layups to help the Firebirds pull within 11(50-39) at the 12:24 mark. But Nyack would use a 9-0 surge, highlighted by a Phil Guglielmo three-pointer, and take its largest lead of the afternoon, 59-39 with just under nine minutes to play. The Firebirds would never get any closer than nine points the rest of the way, as Nyack went on to win by a 14-point margin.
The Firebirds will host non-regional opponent Virginia State on Tuesday, November 25th at 7 p.m.