UDC Men Return to the Win Column with 69-56 Defeat of Alderson- Broaddus

Philippi,WV: February 19, 2011-- The University of the District of Columbia Firebirds Men's Basketball Team (10-14) came from behind to defeat the Alderson-Broaddus College Battlers (16-10) , 69-56, this afternoon in Philippi, West Virginia. Junior guard Brandon Herbert (Sociology- Baltimore, MD) led the Firebirds to the win for the 6th time this season, with a 17 point, 6 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal performance.

The Builders jumped out to a quick lead in the first half with the Firebirds coming back to knot the score at 16, at the 7:18 mark. Although they led in the half, the Builders were unable to put together a run and could not extend their lead beyond 3 points at the break.

The Firebirds shot 28 percent (5-23) from the field in the half, 50 percent (2-4) from beyond the arc and 65 percent (11-17) from the charity stripe, to the Battlers' 31 percent (8-26) from the field, 14 percent (1-7) from beyond the arc and 64 percent (9-14) from the charity stripe.

The Firebirds opened the second half with a 6-0 run to move the score back to within 3 after the Builders increased their lead to seven in the first minute of the half. After several buckets by Herbert, junior guard Nigel Munson (Graphic Design-Washington, DC), and freshman guard Ziad Ashmawy (Political Science-Cairo, Egypt) along with scoring by senior guard Tim Ellison (TV Broadcasting-Alexandria, VA)  brought U.D.C. within four at 49-45, with 8:59 remaining. Ellison then hit a three-point shot with 6:49 remaining to give the Firebirds their first lead of the day, which they did not relinquish and went on to outscore the Builders 46-30 in the half.

Herbert put on quite a display of performance in the second half, scoring all 17 of his points in that period. Also scoring in double digits for the Firebirds were Munson with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Ellison added 13 points, 1 rebound, and Ashmawy chipped in 10 points and 3 boards. Sophomore forward Dyrek Jones (Accounting-Brooklyn, NY) played a tough defensive game, getting 10 rebounds and making 7 blocks.

For the game, the Firebirds shot 38 percent (19-50) from the field, 58 percent (7-12) from beyond the arc and 77 percent (24-31) from the charity stripe, compared to the Builder's 32 percent (20-62) from the field, 24 percent ( 5-21) from beyond the arc and a healthy 68 percent ( 11-16) from the charity stripe.

Nate Barnes scored a game-high 20 points and 2 boards for the Builders, followed by Roy Brown with 11 points, 2 boards and Cory Neale added 9 points 12 boards.

The Firebirds held the advantage in points scored off turnovers (16-9), and fast break points (10-2), while the Battlers bench outscored the Firebirds' bench (19-12), and controlled the boards pulling down 14 offensive rebounds to the Firebird's 4. The Battlers held a 47-35 advantage in rebounds.

Next up for the Firebirds will be the Fairmont State University Fighting Eagles, at home on February 22, for a 7 pm contest, this will be their final home game of the year.