CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Longwood University trailed college basketball's top-ranked team 73-65 with 9:32 remaining before a 16-0 run propelled the #1 Fighting Illini to a 105-79 victory past the Lancers Monday night in Assembly Hall. Sophomore Michael Jefferson/Chesterfield (Meadowbrook) led Longwood (1-14) with a career-high 30 points, while junior Deron Williams led unbeaten Illinois (12-0) with 23 points. It was the second game of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic, and next the Lancers will play #16 Cincinnati on Thursday, Dec. 30, at 9:30 p.m. ET in Las Vegas – a game to be televised on FOX Sports Ohio TV.
Longwood played #1 Illinois extremely tough for over 30 minutes before the more-talented Fighting Illini took advantage of the 16-0 run during a span of 3:21 late in the game. Six different Illinois players scored during the run that gave the hosts a commanding 89-65 lead with 5:57 remaining. A three-pointer from Jefferson at 5:38 made the score 89-68 but the Lancers could get no closer down the stretch.
“What a great opportunity, and a big challenge, for us to come to Illinois and compete with the #1 ranked team in the country,” explained head coach Mike Gillian. “And compete we did -- we were right there in the game being down by only eight points with just over nine minutes left in the game.”
Illinois scored the game’s opening basket on a layup from junior James Augustine at 19:46. Longwood promptly tied the contest at 2-2 with a layup from sophomore Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) at 19:32. Coach Gillian made good on his publicly stated plan to call a timeout if the Lancers scored on their first possession, a 30-second break to recognize the small accomplishment, though making a statement more than anything.
The Fighting Illini extended their lead to 20-10 at 13:46 en route to their largest lead of the first half at 40-22 with 7:16 left until the intermission. A 7-0 run by the Lancers, including five points from Jefferson who scored 18 first-half points, narrowed the margin to 40-29 at 6:21, and LU was within 53-43 at 1:06 as freshman Lamar Barrett/Providence, R.I. (St. Andrews) tallied six quick points. A late three-pointer from senior Luther Head gave Illinois a 56-43 halftime lead and nearly all of the 16,618 fans in attendance, as well as the Fighting Illini, were somewhat stunned.
Longwood continued to battle #1 Illinois in the second half, cutting the deficit to seven points at 63-56 with 12:33 remaining on a tip-in from sophomore Leland Beale/Poquoson (Oak Ridge, N.C. Military Academy). It was 73-65 at 9:32 as junior Chad Kosmo/Northport, Maine (Maine Central Institute) tallied 12 points on perfect 6-6 shooting from the field during the first 10:28 of the second half.
That’s when the Fighting Illini finally displayed their superior talent the quick outburst and made the 16-0 run to secure the home triumph, much to the pleasure of the capacity crowd that had to figure that they would be out of the building by halftime. Illinois’ largest lead of the contest was 100-71 with 2:42 on the clock as both team’s benches did not empty until the final two-plus minutes.
“I’m very proud of the effort and performance of everyone in our program tonight,” added Gillian. “We learned an awful lot about what it really takes to be successful in the world of Division I college basketball.”
Jefferson became the first opposing player all season to score 30 points (game, and career-high) against Illinois as he made 11-22 field goals, including a career-best 5-8 on three-pointers, and 3-4 at the line. He also dished out a team-high six assists to match his career-high while playing 38 minutes.
“Michael Jefferson was just sensational tonight,” said Gillian. “With him being fully recovered from an early season ankle injury, people are just now getting to see how he is capable of playing.”
Kosmo finished with 12 points on perfect 6-6 shooting from the field, all in the second half, adding a team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore Husein Pistoljevic/Richland, Wash. (Hanford) also had 12 points while making 3-4 treys, and Barrett and Beale each contributed 10 points. LU shot a season-best 53% (32-60) from the field, including 42% (8-19) on three-pointers, and 78% (7-9) at the line.
Williams’ 23 points led #1 Illinois, including four three-pointers, adding seven assists. Head finished with 20 points, including four treys, adding five rebounds and three assists. Augustine had 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while senior Roger Powell, Jr. contributed 13 points and three steals. Junior Dee Brown dished out a career-high 13 assists to go along with his eight points and three steals for the Fighting Illini. The UI, the nation’s best shooting team per the latest NCAA Statistics, shot 54% (42-78) from the field, including 40% (10-25) on three-pointers, and 65% (11-17) at the line.
If nothing else, despite the 26-point difference, Longwood gained respect among the college basketball world. The Lancers entered the game rated anywhere from 286 to 330 in various RPI Ratings among the nation’s 332 Division I men’s basketball teams. Illinois began the contest rated from 1-4 in the same RPI Ratings. With nine minutes to play, it was still anyone’s game and the Fighting Illini knew it. Unfortunately, they did what they had to do in order to secure the highly expected win.
The Cincinnati game will also be broadcast on WKLV-AM 1440 as well as via the Internet and longwoodlancers.com. Following the match-up against the Bearcats, Longwood will play Valparaiso on Friday, Dec. 31, at 2 p.m. ET, a game to be broadcast on WBBC-FM 93.5 and on the Internet. Both games in Las Vegas will be played at Valley High School to complete the Lancers participation in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.
