Over 80 Washington DC area UVA alumni and fans gathered at the Verizon Center on Saturday, December 10 to watch Milwaukee Bucks guard and reigning ACC Player of the Year Malcolm Brogdon play our Washington Wizards.  This was Brogdon’s first trip to Washington DC as an NBA player, and his first game in the Verizon Center since the ACC Tournament championship game in March.

The UVA Club of Washington gathered for a pre-game social event at RFD Washington, just 2 blocks from the Verizon Center.  After the social, we had the opportunity to watch pre-game warm-ups from the front of the lower bowl before the arena opened to the general public.  Malcolm came out during the pre-game warmups to say hello to UVA fans and thank us for coming to watch him play.

The basketball game was exciting from start to finish.  After falling behind by 9 points, the Wizards rallied to tie the game at 52-all at halftime and again at 77-all at the end of the 3rd quarter, before going on to win by a final score of 110-105.  Wizards guard John Wall scored 24 points, including the go ahead basket with 3:03 remaining to put the Wizards up 101-100 and help the team earn its 3rd win in 4 games.  Malcolm Brogdon played a great game for the Bucks.  In 20 minutes of playing time, he went 4-for-7 and 3-for-3 from the 3-point arc.  He also logged 2 assists and 1 steal.

Our group wore orange and supported Uncle Malcolm and Dear Old UVA with energy and passion.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noticed our group, and they mentioned us in their post-game write-up:

“A group of fans from the University of Virginia sat in the lower level corner and cheered Brogdon’s every move.  And Brogdon played well enough to stay in the game for much of the fourth quarter as the Bucks built a small lead.  Brogdon was the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year last season as a redshirt senior for Virginia, coached by former UW-Green Bay star and two-time national coach of the year Tony Bennett.”

Malcolm wasn’t the only noteworthy guest at the game… it was also Star Wars Night!  Several Star Wars characters greeted fans in the concourse before the game.

All fans who ordered tickets to the game through the UVA Club of Washington received a free Washington Wizards t-shirt, compliments of Monumental Sports and Custom Ink.

Thank you for joining us at the Verizon Center on December 10th!