Firebirds Stunned by Mavericks, 94-84 in ECC Battle

WASHINGTON, DC – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team suffered a 94-84 loss to East Coast Conference foe Mercy College at the UDC Sports Complex Saturday afternoon.

The Firebirds have now lost three of their last four games in league play as they fell to 5-3 in the ECC and 7-9 overall.  Mercy, meanwhile, ended a four-game skid and improved to 3-5 in league play (5-8 overall).

Senior guard Erin Senegal led UDC with 22 points on 8-of-16 FG shooting (3-of-5 from long range) while also adding six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior transfer point guard Kasim Chandler pitched in with 15 points, a game-high four steals and three assists, and junior transfer forward Jayonne Troutman registered 13 points, five rebounds and a game-high four blocked shots.

The Mavericks were led offensively by reserve guard Shaquille Stokes, who posted game-highs of 28 points and six assists as he made 9-of-17 from the field (3-of-5 from long range) and 7-of-8 at the free-throw line. Starting guard Tyseem Lyles added 17 points and seven rebounds, KJ Rose notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and reserve Isaiah Cosbert added 10 points.

Both teams shot 48-percent from the field, but Mercy made 8-of-17 from long range vs. UDC's 5-of-17, plus the Mavericks shot way better at the free-throw line (22-of-27 vs. 17-of-29). The Firebirds, in their last four games since coming off the winter break, are shooting just 60-percent from the foul line.

Mercy, who has now won the last two meetings between these teams – each at the UDC Sports Complex - also had a 43-36 advantage in rebounds and enjoyed a 48-18 disparity in bench points.

Senegal scored the game's first four points and helped UDC race out to an 8-3 lead a little over two minutes into the action. Later, a Senegal three-pointer put the Firebirds up 13-8, but a Joshua Thompson layup sparked a 12-2 Mavericks surge which put the visitors up for the first time, 20-15. Mercy's lead hovered between 2 and 10 for the next 10 minutes before it closed out the period on a 9-0 run to take the largest lead of the game at halftime, 51-36.

In the opening six minutes, UDC out-scored Mercy 12-7 to pull within 10, 58-48. Still trailing 66-55 just past the 11-minute mark, Troutman's two-handed slam ignited a 7-0 Firebirds burst which closed the gap to 66-62 as the clock approached nine minutes. Cosbert silencec the UDC Sports Complex crowd, however, as he assisted Stokes' layup and then buried a three-pointer to quickly put the Mavericks back up nine, 71-62 at 8:22.

Still a seven-point Mercy lead approaching six minutes, Chandler scored four straight points on a layup and later two free-throws to make it a one-possession game, 72-69 at the five-minute mark. Again Mercy answered, this time, with three consecutive made baskets to extend its lead to 78-69.

The Firebirds never got any closer than six points the rest of the way as Mercy converted 8-of-8 from the foul line in the final 35 seconds to seal the victory.

Next up, UDC will host the 1^st place team in the league standings, LIU Post on Wednesday, January 20^th at 7 p.m.