January 23, 2007

Today I wanted to try something else with my blog. Periodically, I will put up game reports of recent games that I have covered. I always enjoy doing live coverage of a game in any sport. Without further ado, here it is:

Roller Coaster Season Continues
By:Alfons Prince

As the calendar moves further in 2007, the UDC Firebirds continue to have a roller coaster season. After starting the season with 7 wins and only 1 loss, the Firebirds lost 3 of their next 5 games, before they started their current five game homestand on January 16th. Heading into their Monday, January 22nd game against West Chester University, UDC has one win against two losses, with their win coming against Felician College.

Though UDC has lost their last two games, the games have been close, and entertaining games; games that have allowed their fans to come out and be able to happily cheer for their team.

The first loss, which took place on January 18th, came against their arch rival, the Virginia Union Panthers. The Panthers first defeated the Firebirds only a week earlier on January 11th, so there was a feeling of revenge as the game began. UDC took advantage of this energy to jump out to an early 6-0 lead. They maintained this distance throughout the first half until a late spurt left UDC ahead at the half with a 33-24 lead. Even though the Firebirds got four 3-point shots from guard Charlie Smallwood, the Panthers were able to keep the game close because of their dominating rebounding edge. At the half, Virginia Union held a 15-3 advantage in 2nd-chance points.

Virginia Union came out hot to begin the second half, going on a 14-5 run to tie the game at 38 with 14:29 left in the game. The two teams then begin to battle each other as neither team took more than a six point lead. The game began to get more chippy and feisty as the referees let play become more physical. An offensive foul call on Antwon Hawkins of UDC gave Virginia Union the ball with 2:26 remaining and a six point lead. Despite a valiant effort, UDC was never able to get any closer as Virginia Union made timely free throws and go on to win 74-69. Although UDC was able to shoot 40% from the field, the Firebirds left too many opportunities at the free throw line where they missed 11 of their 26 free throw attempts. This combined with Virginia Union’s rebound advantage (48-40) provided to be too much for the Firebirds to overcome.

Since the Firebirds are in the middle of a homestand, they did not have time to be down about their previous loss. Two days after the game against Virginia Union, UDC took the court against the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Mountain Cats. The Firebirds once again displayed tremendous heart, however again they lost, this time on a jump shot by Mountain Cat guard Dwight Hines with 8 seconds left. The Firebirds allowed the Cats to shoot 42% from the field and an astonishing 54% from 3-point range.

UDC had a much harder time shooting the ball. While the Firebirds shot a comparable 41% from the field, they only shot 24% from 3-point range. In this game the Firebirds were led in scoring by guard Antwon Hawkins, who had 26 points. Other key contributors were guard Frank Petersen, who added 15 points and forward Willie Shaw, who added 14 points.

With three games left on the current homestand, the Firebirds need to season to begin another upswing. After January 29th, UDC only has two more home games before the end of their regular season. Playing on the road has been a bit of a problem for UDC, evident by the team having lost 3 of the 6 “true” (Non-tournament, holiday or classic) road games. If this team wants to continue their improbable season, they need to finish this season stronger, especially on the road.

I hope that you enjoyed the game recap that I submitted for my blog. Until next time, peace.