Battle of the Birds Ends in Defeat for the Firebirds

NEW HAVEN, CONN.- the University of the District of Columbia's men's basketball team fell to Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) in an intense season opener match up. The Firebirds fall to 0-1 on the season while the Owls improve to 1-0.

Eric Morgan Jr. led all scorers with 22 points going 8-15 from the field. The other two Firebirds in double figures were Hartnel Haye and Vernon Simmons who both scored ten points while pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. Haye also had a game-high three steals along with teammate Tevin Curtis.

It was a battle of runs in the first half as the two teams traded leads. Both teams struggled to get points in the paint with majority points coming from either behind the arc or at the charity stripe. Morgan Jr led UDC with 11 points in the first half helping the Firebirds lead by as many as five points at the 14:10 mark. The Owls started to open a lead going on a 14-3 run over the last six minutes of the first half and, with just under two minutes to go opened a five point deficit to go into half-time with the lead. 

SCSU tried to pull away from the Firebirds on a couple of occasions in the second half, but the Firebirds kept fighting their way back. UDC went on a 7-0 run in just a minute, and with four minutes to go in regualtion, knotted up the score 59-59. With 1:57 to go, it was a four point game in favor of the Owls who then went on a 10-4 run to seal the deal and walk away with the 75-65 victory.

The Firebirds shot at 36.8% from the field compared to the Owls 44.1%. SCSU had the advantage in rebounds pulling down 41 compared to UDC's 29. The visiting Firebirds forced 16 turnovers (compared to their 10) and had the slight edge with points in paint 30-28.

Up next UDC (0-1) is back in action tomorrow as they end their road trip with a match up against Bridgeport University. The game is slated to begin at 3:00 pm.