UDC Men's Basketball Falls to Molloy College in ECC Tournament Quarterfinals

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y.- The University of the District of Columbia's men's basketball team saw their season come to a close in the first round of the ECC Tournament amidst a 76-69 loss to Molloy College, Wednesday night at the Quealy Gymnasium.

Kenyon Stone led the Firebirds with 19 points and was followed up by Hartnel Haye who had 18. Tevin Curtis came off the bench to post  11 points off of 100% shooting from the field, the foul line, and from behind the arc. Phillip Brown Jr held UDC down defensively grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds and two blocks. 

UDC trailed Molloy 38-34 going into half-time and trailed by as much as nine in the opening minutes of the second half. A series of ties and a layup by Haye with 5:55 remaining saw the Firebirds take their first lead of the game which they extended to seven points. The Lions fought their way back going shot for shot with UDC and sealed the deal with a 7-0 run to close out the last 2:30 with a victory and a spot in the semifinals. 

"We started the season with high hopes and dreams of a winning season and post-season play," said Head Coach Riley. "Injuries and inconsistent play throughout the season derailed those plans early. The student-athletes on the team continued to work hard and showed signs of improvement. We played 4 first-year players starting 2 of them most of the season, they got better and our team chemistry improved. The experience received by the youngest members of our team should prove invaluable as we must learn to win on the road. We begin the off-season knowing where we need to improve as a team, and you improve with summer workouts or recruiting. We plan on doing both." 

UDC closes out the season with a 9-20, 8-10 ECC record.