Firebirds Hold Off Dolphins to Secure 82-73 Conference Victory

WASHINGTON, D.C- The University of the District of Columbia's men's basketball team defeated the College of Staten Island 82-73, to secure another conference win, Saturday afternoon at the E.B Henderson Sports Complex.

UDC featured five double-figure scorers with Juanye Colon leading the way with 18 points, going 6-9 from the field and 3-6 from behind the arc. Kenyon Stone was right behind him with 17 points going 8-13 from the field. Hartnel Haye posted another double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds and Jahmir Marable-Williams had 11 points with a game-high eight assists. Deonte Hicks came off the bench to contribute 10 points as well.

UDC led from the jump in the first quarter but CSI was right there with them forcing multiple ties before the Firebirds took the 39-34 lead going into the half. 

Coming off the break the home team went on a scoring run leading to a 23 point lead, the largest of the game. But a full-court press put on by the Dolphins saw the Firebirds turning over the ball quite a few times resulting in the visiting team chipping away at the lead. They were able to bring the deficit down to as low as just six points with 35 seconds remaining but back to back free throws by Colon and Tevin Curtis would secure the 82-73 win for UDC 

The Firebirds shot at 57.4% from the field while holding the Dolphins to 43.1%. They outrebounded them 39-27 and had more points off the bench.  

UDC (8-18, 7-9 ECC) will travel to N.Y. on Wednesday to face off against St Thomas Aquinas College in the second round of a doubleheader. The tip-off is set for 7:30 pm and will be live-streamed on the ECC network.