Firebirds Fall at Molloy in ECC Road Contest

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team dropped its third straight game on Wednesday night as the Firebirds fell to Molloy, 98-81 in East Coast Conference play at Quealy Gym.

Reigning ECC Rookie of the Week Kory Cooley (Art – Silver Spring, MD/Calvin Coolidge HS) and junior transfer guard Erin Senegal (Political Science – Lafayette, LA/Caldwell) led the Firebirds in scoring with 22 points apiece as UDC fell to 2-11 overall and 2-3 in ECC play.

Molloy had lost four of its last five games including its last two, but improved to 8-5 overall and 3-2 in the ECC as four players reached double-figures scoring, including three with 20 or more points. Matt McLeod registered game-highs of 23 points and eight rebounds, and Charlie Marquardt added 20 points and seven rebounds. Also, guard Brandon Williams finished with 21 points and a game-high six assists.

The Lions' 98 points marked a season-high as they shot 50-percent (30-of-60) from the field and from three-point range (10-of-20), as well as 85-percent from the free-throw line line (28-of-33). They also nearly doubled-up UDC in rebounds (42-26), and cashed in 11 offensive rebounds for 15 second-chance points.

A three-pointer by senior guard Michael Terry (Criminal Justice – Philadelphia, PA/Boston U) about four-and-a-half minutes in helped the Firebirds to an early 12-7 advantage. UDC would then go scoreless, however, for nearly six minutes while Molloy mounted a 13-0 run, the last five points of which were scored by Williams to give the Lions a 20-12 lead just past the 10-minute mark.

Still a six-point game (36-30) with 3:36 remaining in the opening period, Molloy out-scored UDC 12-4 to close out the half as Williams' pair of free-throws with time expired sent the Lions to a 48-34 lead at intermission.

In the second half, Molloy quickly extended its lead to 19 (56-37) thanks to two consecutive three-point field goals by Marquardt. UDC never got any closer than 13 points the rest of the way, as the Lions cruised to a 17-point victory.

UDC will look to snap its three-game losing streak as it visits Queens College on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.