UDC shoots past Livingstone, 81-70
Washington, DC: February 10, 2011 – The UDC men's basketball team (8-13) moved to two games over .500 when playing at home this season, after picking up an 81-70 win over the Livingstone College Blue Bears (12-7) tonight at the UDC sports complex.
The crowd of 150 people in attendance got to see an impressive shooting performance from the Firebirds, who were playing against the nation's number one three-point field goal percentage defense. The Blue Bears entered the week allowing teams to make just 25.1% of their long distance attempts, but the Firebirds shattered that mark tonight as they went 9 of 22 (40.9%) from three-point range for the game.
Two players who played a crucial role in UDC's success from long distance were junior guard Brandon Herbert (Sociology – Baltimore, MD) and sophomore guard Keith Brooks (Mass Media – Harlem, NY). Herbert led the Firebirds in scoring with a game-high 22 points. He made eight of his 13 field goal attempts and went 4 of 8 (50%) from downtown. Brooks went 4 of 6 (67%) from long range, and was a perfect 5 of 5 from the field in the first half. He ended up as the Firebirds second leading scorer with 16 points.
Two other Firebirds also managed to score in double-digits. Senior guard Tim Ellison (Mass Media – Alexandria, VA) had 14 points and 6 rebounds, while junior guard Nigel Munson (Graphic Design – Washington, DC) was two assists shy of a double-double, as he ended up with 13 points and 8 assists.
As hot as UDC was shooting the ball, however, the Firebirds went into the locker room at the half tied 36-36. UDC had taken a 12-point lead in the first half with 5:24 remaining, but the Blue Bears came storming back with a 15-3 run to end the period.
The second half saw the game get tied up three more times in the first four minutes, before the Firebirds eventually took control for good on a lay-up by Munson with 16:05 remaining in the game. It remained a close contest for the next six minutes, but the Firebirds hot shooting and solid defense made it impossible for the Bears to mount any sort of comeback down the stretch.
Sophomore guard Omar Ford-Bey paced Livingstone with 14 points. Senior forward Darius Cox added 13 points and 10 rebounds. They were the only two Blue Bears to score in double figures. UDC's defense held Livingstone to just 33.8% shooting from the field and 16.7% shooting from long range.
Next up for the Firebirds is a short trip on the beltway to Tacoma Park, MD to take on Washington Adventist for the second time this season. UDC beat Adventist back on January 5 in DC, 87-82. They will try and go for the season sweep Saturday, February 12, at 7:30pm. The game can be heard live on the UDC athletics website www.udcfirebirds.com by clicking on the "audio" link under the scheduled game in the upper right-hand corner of the front page.