Firebirds Suffer Heartbreak in HBCU Classic Finale

LINCOLN, PA- The University of the District of Columbia's men's basketball team concluded the HBCU Gameday Classic, in heartbreaking fashion as they fell to Bluefield State 95-96, in overtime. The Firebirds fell to 2-4 on the season while the Big Blue improved to 2-4.

Five firebirds scored in the double figures with Micah Campbell leading the way posting his second double-double of the season off 21 points and 16 rebounds. Juanye Colon registered 20 points, Michael Aiken came off the bench to add 18 points, and Hartnel Haye and Eric Morgan Jr added 12 and 10 points respectively. Jahmir Marable-Williams had a game high eight assists, four steals and a block.

UDC shot the ball at a higher percentage than Bluefield, 41%-38.3% and had the edge on rebounds 54-53. The Firebirds converted more points off turnovers and dominated in most categories such as points in the paint (58-44) and fastbreak points (29-15) but the difference maker came at the charity stripe where the Big Blue shot at 90% compared to the Firebirds 66.7%.

Bluefield went into the break with the 44-42 lead over UDC but the Firebirds managed to fight their way back in the second half and force a tie to go into overtime. After five minutes of play the Big Blue managed to walk away with the one point win. 

Next Up, UDC (2-4, 0-0 ECC) will open conference play hosting St Thomas Aquinas College in a doubleheader on Wednesday. The game is slated to begin at 7:30 PM.