Firebirds Overcome Two Double-Digit Deficits in 79-70 Victory at Molloy

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team overcame double-digit deficits in both the first and second halves to defeat East Coast Conference foe Molloy College, 79-70 at Quealy Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

The Firebirds (10-11, 8-5 ECC) trailed by 10 as late as with 8:23 remaining in regulation, but a transformative, 20-4 run by UDC saw the Firebirds claim a 73-67 lead approaching the two-minute mark and go on to win by nine. Molloy, which also had a 28-16 first half lead at the 7:40 mark dissipate after a 23-5 Firebirds surge, fell to 6-15 overall and 4-9 in league play.

UDC received point-rebound double-double performances from junior transfer forwards Jayone Troutman (team-high 24 points and game-high 14 rebounds) and Joseph Nickerson (21 points, 13 rebounds). Both were outstanding defensively as well, with Troutman blocking a game-high three shots, and Nickerson blocking two shots and coming up with three steals. Junior transfer point guard Kasim Chandler had a game-high four thefts to go with a game-high nine assists and 13 points scored.

Molloy was led by forward Charlie Marquardt's game-high 25 points and team-high 10 rebounds, while guards Curtis Jenkins and Brandon Williams added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

UDC out-shot Molloy 46-percent to 35-percent from the field and earned nearly double the amount of free-throw attempts (27-14). The Firebirds also won the rebounding battle, 44-40 and out-scored the Lions, 42-30 in the paint. Molloy managed to keep pace with UDC courtesy of much better three-point field goal shooting (8-of-25 to UDC's 2-of-14).

Troutman scored four of UDC's first six points to help the Firebirds get off to a 6-2 start at the 17:26 mark, but the Lions came roaring back with a 15-0 run, highlighted by two Marquardt three-pointers, and Molloy led 17-6 at 12:38. Still a 28-16 Lions lead after a layup by Maurice Gatson at the 7:40 mark, Nickerson's conventional three-point play sparked the 23-5 Firebirds run which catapulted UDC in front, 39-33 with 1:48 remaining in the first half. Nickerson would score 13 points during that nearly six-minute UDC burst, and Troutman added eight, including the run-finishing dunk. Molloy would close on a 6-2 run and cut UDC's lead to two, 41-39 at halftime.

The Lions started the 2^nd half on a 5-0 run only to have UDC answer with a 5-0 run of its own and take back its two-point lead, 46-44 at 16:55. But a 15-3 Molloy surge aided by 12 consecutive points by Marquardt, resulted in a 59-49 Lions lead approaching the 11-minute mark. Later, Marquardt's jump shot at 8:23 kept it a 10-point Molloy advantage, 63-53.

An Erin Senegal layup at 7:55 was what kicked off the game-changing, 20-4 UDC run which took place over a span of nearly six minutes and put UDC ahead to stay, 73-67. Chandler was 6-of-6 at the foul line with eight points during this Firebirds surge, and Nickerson and Senegal each chipped in with four.

The Firebirds went on to make 4-of-6 at the foul line down the stretch and close out the game with an emphatic dunk by Troutman in the final seconds.

Next up, UDC will take on ECC foe NYIT at home on Monday, February 8^th at 7 p.m.