UDC Men’s Basketball Defeated by Queens in ECC Road Game

FLUSHING, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team was defeated by Queens College (NY), 72-56 in East Coast Conference action Saturday afternoon at Fitzgerald Gym.

The Firebirds had their two-game win streak snapped as they fell to 3-5 overall and 2-1 in the conference. The Knights, meanwhile, ended their two-game losing skid and improved to 5-5 overall and 3-2 in league play.

Senior guard Joseph Nickerson led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-14 FG shooting and 2-for-2 FT shooting, and he hauled in a team-best 10 rebounds. Senior point guard Kasim Chandler added 12 points and a game-high-tying five assists, and senior forward Jayone Troutman pitched in with 12 points and four rebounds.

Queens was led by guard/forward Tyree White who registered a team-best 16 points and game-highs of 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots. White shot 6-of-9 from the field, including a 2-for-2 day from long range. Diego Maldonado added 13 points,  and Malcolm Moore packed the stat sheet with 12 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The first half featured three ties and seven lead changes, with UDC leading by as many as four (7-3 at the 16:55 mark), and Queens using a 9-0 run on three straight three-pointers to take its largest lead of eight, 19-11, at the 12:08 mark. The Firebirds responded to that Knights run with a 10-surge of their own, and they would ultimately take a 29-28 lead at halftime.

Maldonado put Queens back in front, 31-29 with a three-pointer to kick off the scoring in the 2^nd half. Three ties and two more lead changes would ensue, but the Knights would take the lead for good on a layup by Maldonado at the 16:13 mark to put Queens up, 37-35. UDC still only trailed by two as late as the 10:45 mark following a jumper by senior guard Reggie Sidbury to make the score, 45-43; however, the Knights then went on a 16-0 charge over a span of 4:14 and opened up a 61-43 advantage around the 6:30 mark. The Firebirds would never get any closer than 14 the rest of the way, as Queens coasted to a 16-point victory.

The Knights out-shot UDC 46-percent (26-of-56) to 40-percent (25-of-62) from the field for the game, including a 52-percent to 35-percent disparity in the 2^nd half. The hosts also out-shot their guests 44-percent (10-of-23) to 20-percent (3-of-15) from three-point range, making 5-of-9 from long range in the 2^nd half compared to UDC's 1-of-6. Also, the league's leading free-throw percentage shooting team coming into the game, the Firebirds took a season low number of free-throws (six) and shot a season-worst, 50-percent. Queens, meanwhile, shot 10-of-11 (91-percent).

Queens also out-rebounded UDC 43-27, had eight more assisted baskets, and its bench more than doubled-up UDC's, 20-9.

Next up, the Firebirds will host their Division II cross town rival Bowie State on Tuesday, December 13^th.