Firebirds’ Hot Shooting Not Enough in 86-80 Loss to Molloy

WASHINGTON, DC – The Firebirds shot 46-percent from the field and 52-percent from three-point range, but it was not enough to overcome poor free-throw shooting and a large rebounding disparity, as they fell, 86-80 to East Coast Conference foe Molloy on Saturday afternoon at the UDC Sports Complex.

Both teams took part in the Wounded Warrior Day promotion by wearing fatigue shirts in their respective team colors during warm-ups. Also, UDC recognized all military veterans in attendance, including UDC head men's basketball coach, Mike Riley.

UDC, coming off of a 10-point win over Queens on Wednesday night, fell to 5-19 overall and 5-11 in the ECC with the loss today. Molloy, which bounced back from a 75-67 loss at St. Thomas Aquinas a week prior and remain very much alive in the hunt for the six-team ECC playoffs, improved to 13-10 overall and 8-7 in league play.

The Firebirds featured five scorers in double-figures, including a season-high 20-point effort by reserve junior transfer guard Erin Senegal (Political Science – Lafayette, LA/Caldwell). Senegal shot 6-of-8 from long range (7-of-12 FG), including 5-of-6 from three-point distance in the first half.

Sophomore guard Reggie Sidbury (Social Work – Landover, MD/Charles Herbert Flowers HS) also shot well from behind-the-arc in the first half, making 3-of-4 three-point FG attempts as he finished with 11 points on the day. Guards Omar Abbas (11 points) and Michael Terry (10 points) each knocked down three from long range as well, and senior point guard Quasim Jones added 13 points – including 9-of-10 FT) and a game-high nine assists.

Molloy placed four scorers in double-figures, including a team-high 19 points by guard Brandon Williams, who shot a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line. Reserve Charlie Marquardt also finished with 18 points and four rebounds, and forward Matt McLeod registered 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

UDC as a team made 16-of-31 three-pointers (52-percent) and shot 46-percent from the field (26-of-57), but the Firebirds hurt themselves by making only 12-of-18 from the free-throw line while the Lions made 20-of-22 (91-percent). Molloy also had a sizeable, 42-30 rebounding advantage that included 16 offensive boards. The Lions cashed in for 18 second-chance points and a 40-20 points in the paint advantage.

Sidbury buried his first two three-point attempts and Terry added another to help UDC claim an early 9-2 lead only a minute-and-a-half into the action. Molloy, however, answered with a 17-2 run over the next six minutes as the Lions stormed out to a 19-11 advantage around the 12:30 mark. At that point, Senegal knocked down two three-pointers back-to-back as part of an 8-2 Firebirds surge that closed the gap to two, 21-19, but again Molloy responded – this time with a 12-2 run to go up 31-21 around the eight-minute mark. Again, UDC closed within four (31-27) after back-to-back three-pointers by Sidbury and Senegal, but Molloy used an 8-0 run to take a 12-point cushion, 39-27 at the 5:16 mark.

The Firebirds made 10-of-18 from three-point range in the first half, but were outrebounded 21-11 and outscored, 26-6 in the paint. Molloy led 51-38 at intermission.

Molloy's Williams kicked off the scoring in the second half with a jumper in the paint to put the visiting Lions up 15 early, but UDC went on an 8-0 run highlighted by two consecutive three-pointers by Terry, and pulled within seven, 53-46. The Lions responded with a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 59-46 just past the 16-minute mark.

The Lions' lead remained in double-digits for most of the second half until a 10-2 Firebirds surge, culminating in a three-pointer by Senegal, cut a 14-point Molloy lead down to six, 72-66 with six minutes still to play. Molloy maintained a lead of between six and nine points the rest of the way, however, as the Lions shot 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes of the game to ice the victory.

Next up for UDC is another ECC contest in Oakdale, NY vs. Dowling. The Firebirds will look to complete the season sweep of the Golden Lions after defeating them, 104-86 at home on January 17^th.