January 29, 2004
BOX SCORE
LAWRENCEVILLE, Va. – Longwood University dropped a disappointing 83-69 men’s college basketball decision at Saint Paul’s College Thursday night in Lawrenceville. The Lancers are now 3-15, and will play again Saturday, Jan. 31, hosting the District of Columbia at 3 p.m. in Lancer Hall. The Tigers improved to 2-16 while avenging a 64-61 overtime loss at Longwood Jan. 6.
Longwood led early, scoring the game’s first nine points to lead 9-0 at 16:49. Saint Paul’s, however, answered with 12-straight points to lead 12-9 at 12:39. The hosts remained in front, extending the lead to 24-16 with 6:52 left before halftime. The Lancers answered this time with a 14-4 run to lead 30-28 at 3:47 – getting six points from freshman Michael Jefferson/Chesterfield (Meadowbrook). The Tigers finished the half with their own 9-0 run to lead 37-30 at the intermission.
Saint Paul’s continued its advantage in the second half, outscoring Longwood 21-4 during the first 6:09 of the second half to lead 58-34 at 13:51. The 30-4 run over the two halves prompted Lancer head coach Mike Gillian to empty his bench at that time. The Tigers took their largest lead at 65-40 with 10:55 remaining before the Longwood reserves battled gamely down the stretch to narrow the final margin to 14 points. Freshman Wes Hager/Las Vegas, Nev. (Coronada) sparked the rally with a career-high 10 points off the bench – all in the second half.
Jefferson finished with 12 points, as did senior Nathan Fortener/Hartford, Ky. (Ohio Co.), to lead the Lancers as Fortener added eight rebounds to his 12 points. As mentioned, Hager scored a career-high 10 points, including 2-3 three-point field goals, in just 13 minutes. Longwood shot 49% (30-61) from the field, including just 14% (3-22) on three-pointers, and 50% (6-12) at the free throw line.
Saint Paul’s freshman Greg Moore (6-7) came off the bench to score 22 points on 10-11 shooting from the field, and senior Mike Jones also totaled 22 points, including four three-pointers. Junior transfer Terrence Martin added 15 points and 14 assists for the Tigers. Saint Paul’s shot 50% (34-68) from the field, including 28% (7-25) on three-pointers, and 62% (8-13) at the line.
