Firebirds Fall, 76-68 at Roberts Wesleyan

ROCHESTER, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team was defeated by host Roberts Wesleyan College, 76-68 in East Coast Conference action Friday night at Voller Athletic Center.

In a game that featured 14 lead changes and 10 ties (including a 37-all draw at halftime), and never saw a lead greater than eight points by either team, UDC (1-8, 0-2 ECC) wound up on the wrong side of the largest margin of the night at the final horn for its 5^th loss this season by less than 10 points.

The Firebirds were led offensively by guards Khalil Jackson and Danny Shand, who both scored season and game-highs of 17 points. Jackson shot 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-9 from the foul line while also hauling in seven rebounds, and Shand was 5-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range.

The Redhawks (8-2, 1-0 ECC), who had lost two of their last three games, opened ECC play with a win tonight courtesy of five double-figure scorers, including four starters. Starting forwards Jean Toussaint and Manny Joseph teamed up to give the hosts a big lift in the 2^nd half. Toussaint scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the closing half, and Manny Joseph scored nine of his 12 points and hauled in seven of his game-high nine rebounds to help the Redhakws out-score UDC 39-31 in the closing half.

A see-saw battle early on, Isaiah Lewis' (14 points, three rebounds, four assists)three-pointer about five minutes in gave RWC a 10-8 lead, but freshman forward Maurice Waters ignited a 7-0 burst by the Firebirds that launched UDC in front by what would be its largest margin of the night, 15-10. Waters fired up his team with an and-one layup, converting the free-throw that followed for the three-point play, and capped the run with a layup at the 13:43 mark. Ten straight Roberts Wesleyan points by Lewis, which included three, three-pointers, would give RWC a 20-19 lead at the 11:22 mark, and later Justin Vaughan put the finishing touches on a 13-4 run by the Redhawks with a three-pointer to make the score, 23-19.Though UDC never took another lead in the first half, it forced three more ties, including the 37-all tie to end the half after a three-pointer by Shand.

Shand kicked off the 2^nd half by knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to give UDC a 43-39 lead approaching two minutes in. Roberts Wesleyan responded, though, out-scoring UDC, 15-5 over the next five minutes and opening up a six-point lead, 54-48 after a layup by Joseph at the 13:42 mark. The Firebirds then slowly and methodically chipped away at that deficit, scoring the game's next five points over a span of nearly four minutes to pull within one, 54-53.

The Firebirds would make it a one-point game three more times before finally taking back the lead, 62-60 on a three-pointer by junior guard Kevin Cox near the five-minute mark. The lead changed hands twice more, and the final tie of the night (68-68) occurred at the 1:12 mark on a made jump shot by Shand. Roberts Wesleyan took the lead for good on a layup by Toussaint with 54 seconds remaining. Toussaint would then come up with a steal at the other end, which led to a pair of free-throws by Peyton McLaurin (13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals). Including McLaurin's pair, the Redhawks made 6-of-6 at the line to close the game out while holding UDC scoreless the final 1:12 of regulation.

Next up, UDC will visit non-regional foe West Liberty State in West Liberty, WV on Tuesday, December 19^th at 4 p.m.