WASHINGTON – Despite a game and career-high 38 points from sophomore Alonzo Ortiz-Traylor, the LIU Post men's basketball team could not overcome the University of the District of Columbia as it fell 94-76 Wednesday night inside the UDC Sports Complex.
 
Along with its 76 points being a season-best, LIU Post connected on a season-high 30 field goals and handed out a season-high 17 assists.
 
Ortiz-Traylor 's 38 points led all scorers and came on 15-of-28 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. He also added a game-high 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Freshman Kendell Ogilvie had 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and four rebounds while freshman Nah'Jel Sands finished with a career-high seven assists and five rebounds.
 
Ortiz-Traylor erupted for 20 points in the first half, connecting on 8-of-14 attempts from the field and 4-of-5 shots from behind the three-point line as the Pioneers led in the early stages of the contest.  
 
He scored the game's opening basket, knocking down a three-pointer with 19:42 on the clock after receiving an assist from Goumba. Ogilvie's jumper with 17:52 remaining gave the Pioneers a 5-4 lead and Sands layed the ball in after taking it coast-to-coast with 17:06 on the clock to give LIU Post a 7-4 advantage. Ortiz-Traylor pulled down the rebound off of his own miss and then scored a layup with 16:05 remaining in the half that gave LIU Post a 9-6 advantage. Goumba's three-pointer with 15:42 on the clock gave the Pioneers a 12-11 lead, their final lead of the game.
 
While the Pioneers trailed by 21 points in the early stages of the second half, a pair of free throws by Ortiz-Traylor with 11:27 left to play and LIU Post down 17 sparked a 6-0 run that featured a Goumba layup with 10:44 remaining and an Ortiz-Traylor jumper with 10:15 left to play that cut the Firebirds lead to 76-62.
 
Senior Jamal David knocked down a three-pointer with 7:03 on the clock that reduced UDC's lead to 11 points at 78-67 but the Firebirds were able to hold off the Pioneers and prevent their comeback attempt, prevailing 94-76.
 
Up Next
The Pioneers return to the Pratt Recreation Center on Saturday, January 12 at 3:30 p.m. when they host No. 19 Saint Thomas Aquinas College (12-2, 3-0).