Late Free Throws by Colon, Secures Firebirds Victory over RedHawks

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -The University of the District of Columbia's men's  basketball team improved their win streak to two after defeating Roberts Wesleyan University 79-75, Monday evening at the Voller Athletic Center. This marks the first win for the Firebirds against the RedHawks since the 2019-20 season. The Firebirds  improved to 4-3 in league play while the RedHawks slipped to 4-4. 

Five Firebirds scored in the double-figures with Michael Aiken and Juanye Colon leading the way with 14 apiece. Jahmir Marable-Williams added 13 points, and a team high six assists, and Hartnel Haye added 10 points, six rebounds and a team high three steals. Tevin Curtis came off the bench to contribute 11 points and a tied team high six rebounds. 

The game saw a total of 12 ties and eight lead changes,  but the Firebirds managed to stay on top for most of it. They took the early lead and opened up an 11 point deficit going into half-time. 

The second half saw the RedHawks fighting to play catch up, and the Firebirds fighting to hold on to their lead. UDC got into serious foul trouble losing Marable-Williams, Haye and Torrence Horton and sending Roberts Wesleyan to the foul line for multiple trips where they were able to chip away at the deficit. This coupled with back to back turnovers in minutes for the Firebirds, gave the home team their first lead of the second half with just 1:13 remaining. 

With just 17 seconds to go until the final buzzer, a steal from Colon set up Nicolaus Kenton for a layup to make it a one possession game in favor of the Firebirds. Colon earned a trip to the charity stripe after drawing the foul on a Roberts Defender with seven seconds remaining on the clock. He sunk both free throws to secure the victory for the UDC. 

UDC shot at 50% from the field while the RedHawks shot at 41.8%. The Firebirds had the slight edge on rebounds (32-31) and caused more damage in the paint (38-28). They went a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line and had more impact players from the bench. 

Next Up, UDC (6-10, 4-3 ECC) is back at home on Saturday, hosting Daemen University at 1:00 PM in the E.B Henderson Sports Complex Gymnasium.