Munson propels Firebirds to first win of the season

Washington, DC: December 19, 2010 – Playing in his first game of the season, junior guard Nigel Munson (Graphic Design – Washington, DC) led UDC (1-8) in scoring with 17 points in route to an 84-66 victory over the Virginia State University Trojans (1-7).

The win was the second under second-year head coach Jeff Ruland, and it was the first win for UDC in the calendar year 2010. Besides Munson, the Firebirds had three other players score in double figures. Junior guard Brandon Herbert (Sociology – Baltimore, MD) had 16 points, sophomore forward Dyrek Jones (Accounting – Brooklyn, NY) had 14 points, and freshman guard Philip Izevbehai (Mass Media – Long Island, NY) had 11 points.

The game didn't start out great for the Firebirds, as they found themselves trailing 10-5 with 15:19 remaining in the first half. The game changed over the next five minutes though, as UDC used a 17-0 run to jump ahead by double-digits. The Firebirds would see their lead shrink to as few as six points with 6:51 remaining in the half, but the Trojans could not get any closer and at the half UDC was comfortably ahead 40-29.

The Firebirds can thank clean play for their large half-time lead, as they passed the ball effectively with 12 assists and only two turnovers. Meanwhile, UDC forced Virginia State into seven first half turnovers, which lead to 14 points for the Firebirds.

In the second half UDC consistently lead by double-digits, and at one point the Firebirds built a 25-point lead when freshman forward Ziad Ashmawy (Political Science – Cairo, Egypt) converted a 3-point play with 1:56 remaining in the game. In total it was the third highest-scoring output of the season for UDC, and it was the largest margin of victory for the team since an 86-61 win over Columbia Union on February 4, 2009.

For the game UDC shot 52.8% from the field, 26.1% from beyond the arc, and 88.0% from the charity stripe. Virginia State shot 44.8% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range, and 75.0% from the foul line. UDC out-rebounded Virginia State 29-28.

Washington, DC native D'Angelo Johnson led the Trojans in scoring with a game-high 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field. Senior guard Brandon Plummer was the only other Trojan in double figures with 10 points. 11 of the 12 Trojans who played scored.

UDC will return to action after the Christmas holiday on Thursday, December 30, at 3:00pm at home against Alderson-Broaddus. The game can be heard live by clicking on the "audio" link at www.udcfirebirds.com.