Firebirds Win 3rd Straight with 89-84 Victory at Daemen

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AMHERST, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team won its 3^rd straight game as the Firebirds defeated host Daemen College, 89-84 on Sunday afternoon in East Coast Conference play at the Lumsden Gymnasium.

UDC improved to 4-6 overall and 2-0 in ECC play with today's win while Daemen fell to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in league play. The Firebirds' win marked the first win over the newest member of the ECC in five tries since 2013-14, and their three-game win streak is the program's longest since 2012.

Junior transfer guard Kasim Chandler led four Firebird scorers in double-figures with 21 points on 5-of-12 FG shooting and 11-of-15 shooting at the foul line. He also registered five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Other key contributors for UDC were junior transfer guard Virgil Fleming with 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks, and junior transfer forward Jayone Troutman pitched in 16 points, seven rebounds an two blocks.

The Wildcats were powered by guard Torrence Dyck, with game-highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds to go with seven assists and two steals, as well as Arif Mehmetaj with 24 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and two assists.

The Firebirds were the better shooting team from the field, converting 49-percent from the floor compared to Daemen's 43-percent. They did, however, leave 13 points off the board as they shot an uncharacteristically low, 60-percent (20-of-33) from the free-throw line while Daemen made 73-percent (16-of-22). Also, despite playing with only two substitutes, UDC out-scored the Wildcats 17-8 in bench points, thanks in big part to junior transfer guard Martin Campbell's 12-point scoring effort.

The first half featured several runs by both teams as the Wildcats raced out to an early 8-2 lead after a pair of free-throws by Nick Petrucelli nearly four minutes into the action. After three consecutive buckets by the Firebirds forced an 8-all tie, the Firebirds completed an 11-3 surge with a Traevon Butler three-pointer to pull in front, 13-11 at the 12:20 mark. Daemen answered back though as they rattled off the next 10 straight points to take a 21-13 lead at the 10:15 mark only to have the Firebirds go on a 8-0 burst to take back the lead, 22-21 on a three-point play by Fleming. Four more lead changes and one tie ensued, but it was the Firebirds ahead by a slim 34-33 as the two teams headed into intermission.

The first 6:11 of action once play resumed included six more lead changes and a tie, before Fleming's three-pointer at the 13:49 mark put the Firebirds ahead for good, 47-46. That three-pointer kick-started an 8-0 UDC run that culminated in a Troutman dunk to put the Firebirds up, 52-46 – a lead they would never relinquish for the remainder of the game.

Back-to-back layups by Daemen's Ryan Grandits cut the deficit to two at the 11:54 mark, but Chandler converted a layup to get the UDC lead back up to four. Then, Jaleo Wilkes converted a three-point play to bring the Wildcats within one, 54-53 at the 10:55 mark, but a big layup by Martin Campbell, followed by senior guard Erin Senegal's lone three-pointer of the game, increased the lead to six, 59-53 nearing the nine-minute mark.

Still just a four-point game, 59-55 at the 8:48 mark, the Firebirds all but assured the victory with an 8-0 surge to go up 67-55 with seven minutes to play. UDC still led 80-73 with 1:24 remaining when Campbell was called for a foul and a subsequent technical foul at the 1:19 mark. Arif Mehmetaj made the first two free-throws and Jay Sarkis sunk the next two, bringing the Wildcats within three, 80-77 with 1:19 left.

Following a 1-of-2 trip at the line by Fleming, Torrence Dyck made it a two-point game with a layup at the other end, as Daemen was only down 81-79 with 41 seconds left. The Firebirds would extend their lead to four, 84-80 thanks to 3-of-4 FT shooting and 1-of-2 FT shooting by Daemen, but Mehmetaj kept the Wildcats alive by burying a three-pointer at the 29-second mark to make it 84-83.

Senior forward Geran Pope only converted 1-of-2 at the foul line on the ensuing possession, but Dyck missed a three-pointer at the other end, and Chandler corralled the defensive rebound and was fouled with 10 seconds remaining. He sank both to make it a two-possession game, and the Firebirds went on to win comfortably by a five-point margin, 89-84.

The Firebirds will host ECC foe Molloy on Wednesday, December 16^th at 5 p.m.