Firebirds Outgunned vs. Daemen, 100-89

WASHINGTON, DC – The Firebirds and Wildcats combined for 119 points in the second half, but it was Daemen College who outscored the host University of the District of Columbia, 62-57 to pull away in the final minutes of regulation for a 100-89 East Coast Conference victory Friday night in our nation's capital.

UDC (8-10, 6-4 ECC) was led offensively by junior transfer point guard Kasim Chandler, who recorded his first double-double performance of the season with team-highs of 27 points and 10 assists to go with a game-high three steals as well. Chandler, who limped to the bench with just under two minutes remaining after 27 minutes of game action, shot 10-of-13 from the field, 4-of-4 from three-point range, and 3-of-4 at the foul line. His 10 assists are a season-high and came on a night when he had zero turnovers.

Chandler's backcourt counterparts Martin Campbell and Erin Senegal shot a combined 11-of-27 (8-of-19 from long range) and scored 19 and 13 points, respectively. Junior transfer forward Joseph Nickerson added 18 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots off the bench and junior transfer starting forward Jayone Troutman contributed a team-high 11 rebounds and two blocked shots.

The Firebirds, who have now dropped four of their last six games, were without their leading rebounder Geran Pope (8.2 rpg) due to illness, and consequently were out-rebounded, 45-30 by the Wildcats. This resulted in 15 offensive rebounds, 15 second chance points and a 44-28 advantage in points in the paint for Daemen.

The Wildcats (12-6, 8-3 ECC) avenged an 89-84 loss to the Firebirds on their home court on December 13^th and remained a spot ahead of UDC in the ECC standings at No. 4 with their 7^th straight victory tonight. All five of Daemen's starters scored in double-figures, including a game-high 30 points by forward Torrence Dyck. The 2014-15 First Team All-ECC selection scored 24 of his 30 in the 2^nd half, making 12-of-22 FG (4-of-9 behind-the-arc) and 2-of-6 FT for the game while also pitching in five assists and four rebounds.

Three ties and five lead changes highlighted the first 10:05 of action as Darius Garvin put the Wildcats on top, 16-15 with a three-pointer at 9:55. This sparked what amounted to a 12-0 run featuring a Jesse Lalka three-pointer and culminating in a Jaleo Wilkes jump shot at 6:26 to put Daemen up 25-15. The Wildcats out-shot UDC 48-percent to 37-percent and out-rebounded the Firebirds, 24-14 in the first half as they would take a 38-32 lead into the break.

The Firebirds started raining three-pointers in the 2^nd half as a combined five made shots from behind-the-arc by Senegal, Nickerson, Chandler and two by Campbell helped trim the deficit to just three, 56-53. Dyck's eight points, including two three-pointers, helped Daemen remain in front for the time being, but UDC would ultimately fight back from a 63-57 deficit to force a 63-all tie with a deep, long-range bomb by Senegal at 10:42.

Chandler forced another tie at 66 as he answered a Garvin three-pointer with one of his own at 9:52, but Dyck's layup on the ensuing possession put Daemen ahead to stay at the 9:29 mark. Campbell brought UDC within three, 73-70 with his 5^th and final three-pointer of the game at 8:36, but Dyck led the Wildcats on a 10-3 surge, finishing off the run with an emphatic dunk off of an assist by Jay Sarkis to put Daemen up 10 with 6:09 remaining.

Still, UDC continued to fight, using a 10-4 run to close the gap to 87-83 on a Nickerson layup at 3:13 only to give up a layup to Garvin at the other end on the ensuing possession and later allow two offensive rebounds after a missed free-throw before a Deion Hamilton layup at 2:50 to make it 91-83. The Wildcats would then cruise to an 11-point victory.

UDC is back in action at home on Sunday at 3 p.m. as the Firebirds host ECC foe Roberts Wesleyan.