One Monday make-up game turned into a blowout in the nation’s capital. Here’s how it went down:
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 100 NYIT 69
Erin Senegal scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half (5-10 from 3-point range) and snatched eight rebounds as District of Columbia routed New York Institute of Technology in Washington, racking up a symmetrical 50 points in each half. Kasim Chandler flirted with a triple-double, compiling 23 points (9-13 FG), eight rebounds and 10 assists for the Firebirds, who trailed just once (2-0) and used a 17-1 burst to stretch an 18-14 lead into a 35-15 cushion. The Bears were within 64-49 after a three by Khalif Chaplin (29 points, 5-10 from deep) with 11:56 to play in the second half, but a Reggie Sidbury triple 34 seconds later triggered a 28-9 blitz that put the game out of reach at 82-58 with 3:55 left. Traevon Butler recorded personal bests of 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the hosts, who also received 18 points off the bench from Sidbury (7-9 FG, 4-6 from 3) and an unusual output from Joseph Nickerson, who only managed two points but stuffed the stat sheet with 10 rebounds, six assists, five steals and ECC individual season-high seven blocked shots. Jerrel Green amassed 21 points, 18 rebounds and four assists for NYIT, though he shot a horrific 1-10 from the foul line (the team was a disastrous 16-33). The Firebirds shot at a much higher clip overall (51%-34%) and from long distance (12-25 to 5-22) while furnishing the vastly superior assist-turnover ratio (26/11 to 9/19), outscoring their guests 21-7 off miscues and 27-7 on the break. It was UDC’s largest margin of victory since an eerily similar 100-67 score against the same team on almost the same day (February 6, 2013).