Purple Knights Hold On For 80-77 ECC Men's Basketball Win Over UDC

Bridgeport, Conn.-The University of Bridgeport men's basketball team picked up a big East Coast Conference home win on Wednesday evening in Hubbell Gym, as the Purple Knights held on to knock of the ECC-leading University of the District of Columbia Firebirds, 80-77.  UB lead by 10 points, 74-64, with 2:16 to play in the game, but UDC went on a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to only one, 78-77, with five seconds to play before senior Stefano Osuji (Voorhees, N.J.) iced the game by hitting two free throws with 2.4 seconds to play.  With the victory, Bridgeport is now 9-8 overall and 5-3 in conference play.  The Firebirds are now 10-7 overall and 7-2 in the ECC.

Osuji tied for the team lead in scoring in the win with 20 points, as classmate Kyle Benjamin (Bronx. N.Y.) also netted 20 for the Purple Knights to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds to give him his eleventh double-double of the 2016-17 season.

Junior Sam Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also reached double figures for UB scoring 13 points.

Kasim Chandler led four UDC players in double-digit scoring with 20 points.

Up next, the UB men's basketball teams travels to Mercy College for a game this Saturday afternoon at the Westchester Community College.  Game time is set for 2:30 p.m., as the Purple Knights look for a three-game winning streak.