Felician Athletics - 1/16/07 MEN'S BASKETBALL - Playing Catch-Up Costly In Loss At UDC

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The University of the District of Columbia outscored visiting Felician College, 10-3, in the final four minutes of the first half, keying an 89-75 non-conference men's basketball victory on Tuesday afternoon.

The late first-period run gave UDC (10-4) a 43-32 advantage heading into halftime. The Firebirds pushed to a 14-point lead on three occasions, but a 10-2 spurt capped by a Derrell Thomas (Harlem, NY) three-point field goal brought Felician to within 69-63 with 5:23 to play. That was as close as the Golden Falcons could creep, as the Firebirds scored the game's next five points and never trailed by less than nine for the rest of the day.

Felician (6-10) led for much of the first 10 minutes of the game, taking as large as a six-point edge on three occasions. But the Firebirds used a 12-2 run in the middle four minutes of the opening period to take the lead they would never relinquish.

Both teams put four scorers in double-figures. UDC's Willie Shaw registered game highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds and Charlie Smallwood scored 20 points. Michael Pierrot (Melville, NY) (12 rebounds) and Sydir Mitchell (Paterson, NJ) scored 21 apiece for the Golden Falcons.