Firebirds Outbattled at Alderson-Broaddus

PHILIPPI, WV – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team was defeated by host Alderson-Broaddus University, 85-70 on Tuesday night at Rex Pyles Arena.

The Firebirds fell to 1-6 on the season with the loss while the Battlers, of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, improved to 4-2.

UDC was led by four scorers in double-figures, including junior transfer forward Joseph Nickerson's team-high 17 points to go with six rebounds, one block and one steal. Nickerson shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line to add to his total. Senior forward Geran Pope also gave the Firebirds a spark off the bench as he made 7-of-11 from the field and scored 15 points.

Struggling offensively after a career-high 33 point scoring effort on Saturday night was reigning East Coast Conference Player of the Week, senior guard Erin Senegal, who shot 0-for-9 from the field including 0-for-5 from three-point range, and finished with just five points. UDC was just 1-of-10 collectively from three-point range as no Firebird connected on a triple until Joseph Nickerson's lone three-point make at the 1:46 mark.

Alderson-Broaddus meanwhile shot 7-of-14 (50-percent) from long range and shot a red-hot 54-percent (33-of-61) from the field. The Battlers were powered by the interior play of forward Richard Lemon, who registered a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds and added seven assists and a steal. Guard Malcolm Tatum added 20 points and four assists, and Thylas Perkins pitched in 17 points and two assists. AB had a 19-10 advantage in assists and won the rebounding battle, 33-28.

The Firebirds grabbed an early 4-0 lead on back-to-back buckets by junior transfer forward Jayone Troutman (11 points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots) and junior transfer guard Kasim Chandler (12 points, two assists), but that would be the Firebirds' only lead of the night as the Battlers took the game over beginning with a 19-6 surge. Perkins put AB on the board initially with a three-pointer and added another during this run, and Tatum capped the run with his first three-pointer of the night at the 11:15 mark.

The three-point onslaught continued as Tatum and Perkins combined to make 7-of-9 from behind-the-arc and helped build the Battlers' lead to as many as 21 in the first half. Alderson-Broaddus would take a commanding, 47-27 lead into halftime.

The Battlers kept the pedal to the metal as the second half began, racing out to a 10-2 run within the first four minutes of play to widen the gap to an insurmountable deficit, 57-29. Nickerson scored 13 of his 17 in the second half and UDC out-scored AB, 43-38 in the closing period, but it was not nearly enough to make up the deficit as the Firebirds lost by 15.

UDC returns to the nation's capital to host The Apprentice School on Sunday, December 6^th at 2 p.m. The Firebirds are 1-1 on their home floor this season.