January 29, 2005

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va. -- South Carolina State University fought off a late rally by host Longwood to take a 71-65 men’s basketball victory Saturday night in Willett Hall. The Bulldogs (10-9) secured the win with 5-6 free throws over the final 30-seconds after the hard-luck Lancers (1-21) had rallied from a 13-point deficit (66-53) in the final 3:01. Demeco Heath led SCSU with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) led LU with a game-high 23 points. Longwood will play again Monday, Jan. 31, as Appalachian State is scheduled to visit at 7 p.m..

Longwood trailed 66-53 after a three-pointer from South Carolina State’s Clary Judge with 3:23 left before a 10-0 Lancer run made it 66-63 with 39-seconds remaining as Sumter scored eight of the points. Judge sank two free throws at 0:30, and after an LU miss, Heath made 1-2 free throws at 0:17. A layup from Lancer freshman Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder) had the score at 69-65 (0:11) before a pair of free throws from Bulldog Thurman Zimmerman closed the scoring at 0:09.

A closely-played contest throughout witnessed five lead-changes and two ties during the game. Longwood started fast with an early 11-5 lead at 14:21. South Carolina State, which had defeated LU 78-56 last season, battled back with a 20-6 run to lead 26-17 at 6:22 as Heath scored 12 points. The Bulldogs led 32-21 at 2:56 before the Lancers fought back with a 12-2 run to trail just 34-33 at the intermission as Sumter made a pair of late three-pointers.

South Carolina State led just 45-44 at 14:04 as LU junior Chad Kosmo/Northport, Maine (Maine Central Institute) scored inside. The Bulldogs, however, again extended their advantage with a 13-4 run to lead 58-48 at 8:53 behind three consecutive three-pointers, the last two by Heath. SCSU pushed the lead to 13 points, its largest of the game, at 66-53 with 3:23 left to play before the late but unsuccessful comeback attempt by the Lancers.

Sumter’s game-high 23 points included 4-7 three-pointers while adding five rebounds and four steals for Longwood. Sophomore Michael Jefferson/Chesterfield (Meadowbrook) added 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists before fouling out with 5:57 on the clock. Freshman Lamar Barrett/Providence (St. Andrew’s) added 13 points and six rebounds for the Lancers, while Kosmo grabbed nine rebounds to go with five points and four blocks. LU shot 33% (20-61) from the field, including 25% (6-24) on three-pointers, and 95% (19-20) at the line.

Heath’s 22 points included 4-4 three-pointers along with the game-high 10 rebounds for South Carolina State. Brian Mason contributed 12 points and seven rebounds for the Bobcats, while Zimmerman finished with nine points and nine rebounds. Judge had eight points, five assists, and three steals. SCSU shot 43% (25-58) from the field, including 50% (8-16) on three-pointers, and 68% (13-19) at the line.