Firebirds Fall Short, 83-73 at LIU Post

BROOKVILLE, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team was defeated, 83-73 by East Coast Conference foe LIU Post on Wednesday night at Pratt Recreation Center.

The Firebirds (1-15, 0-8 ECC) controlled the lead for much of the first half, including a 27-21 advantage with four minutes remaining, but they surrendered 13 of the final 18 points in that opening stanza and allowed LIU Post to take a 34-32 halftime lead which it would never relinquish.

UDC kept in striking distance for much of the 2^nd half, hovering between a three and six-point deficit for the majority of the closing 20 minutes. Junior transfer guard Danny Shand, who scored __ of his team-high 18 points in the 2^nd half, scored four straight points around the mid-way point of the period to force a 56-all tie, and senior guard Traevon Butler's free-throw just past the nine-minute mark forced another tie at 59-all.  Still, the Firebirds never managed to pull in front in the 2^nd half, and LIU Post's Jared Rivers (25 pts) put the Pioneers ahead to stay, 62-59 with a three-pointer at the 8:37 mark.

LIU Post (7-11, 5-3 ECC), who was coming off back-to-back ECC losses in Western, NY at Daemen College and Roberts Wesleyan College, respectively, put four scorers in double-figures, including Rivers' game-high 25 points. Rivers shot 7-of-16 from the field, including a 5-of-9 clip from three-point range. Meanwhile, forward Kyle Doucette registered the game's only double-double with 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

Shand and junior transfer point guard Quadire Truesdale tied for the team-high with 18 points, and Shand also collected game-highs of six assists and four steals. Butler added 12 points as well.

The Pioneers won the rebounding battle, 40-26, and shot considerably better from behind-the-arc and the free-throw line. LIU Post shot 50-percent (11-of-22) from long range compared to UDC's 33-percent (10-of-30), and not only got to the foul line way more (25-12 in attempts), the Pioneers converted 80-percent to UDC's paltry 58-percent shooting.

Next up, the Firebirds will return home to host ECC foe New York Institute of Technology on Saturday, January 20^th at 1 p.m.