Rockville Centre, N.Y. – Despite three players eclipsing the 20-point mark, the Molloy men's basketball team fell to the Firebirds of the University of the District of Columbia, 93-87, Wednesday evening on Bob Houlihan Court. Following the contest, the Lions move to 8-17 overall and 8-7 in East Coast Conference play, while the Firebirds improve to 5-18 overall and 4-11 in league play.
 
Prior to the start of the contest, the program celebrated its senior, Seydina Mohamed Dieng (business analytics) that will be graduating this spring.
 
How it Happened

• After a slow start to the contest where the score sat at, 8-8, through the opening five minutes, UDC put together a 17-3 run to take a 25-12 lead with 11:49 to go in the first half.
• The run saw the Firebirds shoot seven-of-nine from the floor while holding the Lions to just three free throws.
• Molloy was able to cut the deficit to five on two occasions for the remainder of the half, on the back of three-point field goals from freshman Chase Timberlake. The Lions trailed, 32-27, with 6:45 remaining in the opening stanza.
• UDC reestablished its 13-point lead, 48-35, with 36 seconds remaining before taking a 48-40 advantage into halftime.
• Through the first eight minutes of the second half, the road team maintained its advantage, building its lead back to 13, 69-56.
• The cardinal and white were able to get into a rhythm over the next 3:33 of action, rallying to a 12-2 run that saw them cut the deficit to one possession, 71-68, with 8:28 to play.
• The run saw the Lions shoot 83 percent from the floor and get four scorers on the scoresheet.
• UDC took Molloy's best shot and responded by upping its lead back to double-digits and as much as 11, 86-75, with 1:47 to go on the scoreboard.
• In the next 59 seconds, the cardinal and white used an 8-1 run to quickly cut the lead down to four, 87-83, with 48 seconds to play. Junior Bryce Merchant spearheaded the run with a pair of three-point baskets.
• The final 48 seconds saw the Firebirds hold off the Lions while shooting six-of-eight from the foul line and go on to close the victory, 93-87.

Top Performances

• Sophomore Dylan Kopp and Timberlake led the Lions with 21 points apiece. Timberkale netted a career-high five three-point field goals while Kopp shot 54 percent from the floor.
• Merchant tallied a double-double scoring 20 points and securing 11 rebounds.

Up Next
Molloy will wrap up its regular season schedule Saturday, February 28 on the road against Staten Island. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.