James Scores 24 Game-High Points as UDC Falls to Washington Adventist, 73-63

Takoma Park, MD: January 26, 2010-Freshman guard Kenneth James (Arlington, VA) led all scoring tonight as the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds Men's Basketball Team fell, 63-73, to the Washington Adventist University Shock  at the Pitt. James scored 24 points and grabbed 5 boards as teammate junior guard Tim Ellison (Alexandria, VA), the second highest scorer, put up 22 points and collected 7 rebounds. Chris Leach, a sophomore forward from Washington, DC was also in double figures, scoring 16 points and pulling down 6 boards.

Four Adventist players were in double figures led by Darrick Williams with 21 points and 3 boards. Jamie Newton followed with 16 points, 4 rebounds, while Antonio Ortega added 13 points, 2 rebounds. Khalid Martin contributed 10 points and 7 rebounds to the victory.

 The teams played a close first half, with UDC shooting 47 percent (10 for 21) and Adventist 37 percent (11 for 30) from the field. Adventist opened the game with a 9-0 run. James got UDC on the board when he made a layup at 15:26, and went on to score 14 of his 24 points in the half, followed by Ellison, who scored 12 of his 22 points. The scored was knotted at 30, at the half time break, when James made the front end of two free throws with 36 seconds remaining.

Adventist made a 10-0 run in the second half to open up a 13 point lead and stretched it to 16 before UDC trimmed it to 8 on a 6-0 run with 7:01 remaining.  Both teams shot 46 percent from the field for the game, while UDC shot 25 percent (2 for 8) from beyond the arc and Adventist 31 percent (10 for 32). Adventist held the advantage in free throw shooting converting 81 percent (13 of 16) to UDC's 74 percent (23 of 31).

 Adventist capitalized on 23 UDC turnovers, converting them into 34 points and outscored the Firebirds 29 to 26 in the paint. Adventist also led in fast break points tallying 8 points to UDC's 2.

 UDC (1-15) returns to action on January 28, against University of the Sciences in a double-header in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The UDC Women will play the University of the Sciences Women in the first game of the double header.