Sunday, February 22, 2015

UDC Mens and Womens Basketball Recaps

 

Firebirds Storm Past Purple Knights, 70-56

Senior forward Denikka Brent led all scorers with 16 points.

GAME LEADERS

TEAM STATS

Field Goal %

Rebounds

Assists

Turnovers

Pts off Turnovers

2nd Chance Pts

Pts in the Paint

Fastbreak Pts

Bench Pts

WASHINGTON, DC – Amidst a snowstorm that hit the DC area late Saturday morning, the University of the District of Columbia women's basketball team soared past East Coast Conference foe, Bridgeport, 70-56 for its 12th straight win.
The Firebirds, ranked No. 4 in the first NCAA Division II East Region poll, improved to 23-3 overall and 16-2 in league play to move within one more win of clinching a regular season ECC Championship. This also marks their 9th straight home win at the UDC Sports Complex and completes the season sweep of the Purple Knights. Bridgeport lost its fifth straight game and fell to 4-21 overall (2-15 ECC).
Senior forward Denikka Brent (Mechanical Engineering – Chesapeake, VA/Booker T. Washington HS), who left the game early in the 2nd half after cutting her chin during a hard spill on the UDC Gym floor, still led all scorers with 16 points as she made 8-of-10 shots from the field. Junior guardTajruba Baldwin-Kollore (Criminal Justice – Newport News, VA/Denbigh HS) was the only other Firebird in double-figures with 13 points as nine different UDC student-athletes entered the scoring column.
Bridgeport was led by forward Evelyn Ovner who scored a team-high 15 points and tied for the team-lead with five rebounds. Vanessa Schindler came off the bench to add 10 points, and starting guard Tiara Aziz added nine points and a game-high five assists, but also turned it over a game-high eight times. The Purple Knights had 26 turnovers, collectively, which the Firebirds turned into 24 points.
The Purple Knights actually out-shot UDC 41-percent to 40-percent from the field and out-rebounded the Firebirds 43-32; however, with just 11 turnovers to UB's 26, the Firebirds got off seven more FG attempts and more than doubled-up Bridgeport in free-throws (14-of-18 to 6-of-8).
The two teams traded baskets early on with UDC in front the entire way besides a 2-2 tie in the opening minutes. After Schindler's layup at the 11-minute mark brought the visiting Purple Knights within one, 16-15, Baldwin-Kollore knocked down consecutive jump shots to kick-start a 27-8 Firebirds surge to end the half. Baldwin-Kollore finished with eight points in the first half while Brent led all scorers with 14. UDC shot a blistering 53-percent from the field in the first half as the host Firebirds took a commanding, 43-23 lead at intermission.
In the second half, the Firebirds never allowed Bridgeport to get any closer than 16, as they cruised to a 14-point victory.
UDC will play ECC foe Mercy next on Thursday, February 26th as the Firebirds celebrate Senior Night at the Sports Complex. Telisha Turner (Criminal Justice – Wilmington, DE/Harcum), Brent, Diamonique Carr (Criminal Justice – Camden, NJ/Harcum) and ShaKena Williams (Accounting – Washington, DC/Frederick CC) will all be honored before the start of the game.

Firebirds Falter Late; Lose to Bridgeport, 83-72

Senior guard Michael Terry had a game-high 25 points.

GAME LEADERS

TEAM STATS

Field Goal %

Rebounds

Assists

Turnovers

Pts off Turnovers

2nd Chance Pts

Pts in the Paint

Fastbreak Pts

Bench Pts

WASHINGTON, DC – The University of the District of Columbia men's basketball team played right with the 2nd place team in the East Coast Conference, Bridgeport, until midway through the 2ndhalf when the Purple Knights used a 14-2 run to put the game away and went on to win, 83-72 on a snowy Saturday afternoon in the nation's capital.
Still just a 61-60 Bridgeport lead after a layup by UDC's freshman forward Andre Williams(Business Management – Maybrook, NY/Valley Central HS) at the 10:30 mark when UB's Eddie Asamoah answered with an emphatic dunk at the other end followed later by a three-pointer at the top of the key to kick-start the game-changing, 14-2 Purple Knights surge to put the visitors in front, 75-62. UDC never got any closer than seven from that point on, as Bridgeport went on to win comfortably by 11.
Senior guard Michael Terry (Criminal Justice – Philadelphia, PA/Boston U) led all scorers with 25 points, which included 5-of-10 three-point shooting. Eighteen of his 25 came in the first half as he shot 6-of-12 FG (4-of-6 three-point FG) and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line to keep UDC within two at halftime (43-41). Also, junior transfer forward Geran Pope (Political Science – Washington, DC/Virginia Union) posted his 4th double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Bridgeport, which is just a game back of St. Thomas Aquinas in the win-column for 1st place in the ECC standings, won its 4th straight game with solid contributions from forward Willie Williams III (22 points, eight rebounds), Asamoah (14 points, five rebounds, two blocked shots) and guard Devon Elliot (13 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals).
The Purple Knights out-shot UDC 50-percent (29-of-58) to 40-percent (27-of-67) and had more assists (16-11) and fewer turnovers (12-15).
UDC will host ECC foe Mercy on Thursday, February 26th at 5 p.m. for Senior Night, and the season home finale at the Sports Complex. The Firebirds will honor five seniors before the game: Prince Ritson, Din MooreLenjo KiloQuasim Jones and Michael Terry.

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