Firebirds Earn 92-82 Victory at Dowling

OAKDALE, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team defeated East Coast Conference foe Dowling, 92-82 on Saturday afternoon at Dowling Gymnasium.

The Firebirds improved to 7-7 overall and 5-1 in league play while Dowling fell to 6-6 overall and 2-3 in the ECC. UDC has now won six of its last seven games, including its last three on the road.

UDC, which out-shot the Golden Lions 49-percent to 39-percent from the field and 38-percent to 30-percent from long-range, featured four double-figure scorers, including a team-high 20 points by reserve junior transfer forward Joseph Nickerson, to go with seven rebounds and two assists. Senior guard Erin Senegal added 17 points, six rebounds and three assists, junior transfer guard Martin Campbell came off the bench to register 16 points and five rebounds, and junior transfer starting guard Kasim Chandler pitched in with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Dowling, which had a lead as late as mid-way through the 2^nd half, had two more assists (19-17) and six fewer turnovers (17-11) than the Firebirds. The Golden Lions featured four double-figure scorers, including Chris Millender's 25 points and 17 rebounds and Evan Maxwell's 21 points and seven rebounds. (Maxwell surpassed the 1,000-point career scoring plateau during this game)

The Firebirds raced out to a 7-2 run thanks in part to an early three-pointer by Senegal, but the Golden Lions came rushing back with a 10-0 run and led 12-7 after a Maxwell jumper near the 14-minute mark. UDC answered with nine of the game's next 13 points and eventually forced a 16-all tie at the 11:20 mark, but a 5-0 response by Dowling made it 21-16 with 10:39 remaining.

Back came the Firebirds once more, this time with an 8-2 run featuring four points by Nickerson, including a jumper at 7:47 which put UDC in front, 24-23. The lead changed hands six more times and there were four more ties, but it was the Firebirds in front by two, 40-38 as the game headed to intermission.

UDC extended its lead to six (45-39) as the Firebirds outscored Dowling 5-1 to start the 2^nd half, but Dowling answered with a 13-4 run and led 52-49 nearing the 14-minute mark. The Golden Lions still led by four, 58-54 with 12 minutes remaining when Nickerson and Chandler combined for four straight points to force a 58-all tie.

Dowling regained the lead for the last time, 59-58 after a 1-of-2 trip by Millender with 10:24 remaining, but a three-pointer by Martin Campbell gave UDC the lead for good, 61-59 at the 10:10 mark. The Golden Lions pulled within one point three separate times, including a 66-65 deficit at the 7:26 mark, but the Firebirds pulled away with a 12-1 run aided by eight Martin Campbell points. UDC took a 78-66 lead with just under four minutes to play, and never let Dowling any closer than four points the rest of the way.

Next up, the Firebirds visit league foe St. Thomas Aquinas on Thursday, January 14^th at 8 p.m.