Stone Knocks Down Last Second Layup to Lead the Firebirds to a 71-69 Conference Victory Over the Dolphins
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dist. Columbia (4-15 (3-6 ECC)) | 28 | 43 | 71 |
|
Staten Island (4-10 (3-5 ECC)) | 28 | 41 | 69 |
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.- The University of the District of Columbia's men's basketball team edged out the College of Staten Island in what turned out to be a nail-biter, Wednesday evening at the Sports and Recreation center. The Firebirds improved to 4-15, 3-6 in the ECC and the Dolphins fell to 4-10, 3-5 in league play.
UDC featured four double-figure scorers with Kenyon Stone leading the way with 23 points going 11-15 from the field. Hartnel Haye was just shy of a double-double registering 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Jahmir Marable-Williams and Juanye Colon also added 13 and 12 points respectively.
Both teams got off to a slow start, but the Dolphins managed to get on the scoreboard first with the Firebirds struggling to make a basket fall in the opening four minutes of play. Stone would end UDC's shooting drought knocking down the first four points for the Firebirds. The rest of the half would see four lead changes and three ties with the score at 28-28 going into the break.
The Home team managed to pull away from the Firebirds coming off the break leading by as much as 12 points with 14:14 remaining. Just as the game seemed to be getting away from them UDC kicked into another gear fighting their way back into contention. Haye went on an 8-0 run for the Firebirds which powered his teammates to a 21-9 run resulting in an eight-point lead.
The game was far from over as the Dolphins managed to take a one-point lead off two free throws made by Luis Armas with just 14 seconds to go. The Firebirds hustled down the floor where Haye would have his layup blocked by Messiah Mallory, but Stone would get the offensive rebound which he would sink drawing the and one. Stone knocked down the free throw to secure UDC's two-point victory over the CSI.
UDC (4-15, 3-6 ECC) will have the next week off before traveling back to N.Y. to face off against D'Youville on Friday, January 28 at 8:00 pm. The game will be live-streamed on the ECC network.