November 20, 2005
BOX SCORE
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Longwood University dropped a disappointing 70-67 men’s basketball decision to Yale Sunday afternoon in Lincoln, Nebraska in its final game of the John Thompson Foundation Challenge. The Lancers (0-3) were playing their third game in 41 hours to open the season and were led by junior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) with 11 points, while the Bulldogs (2-1) were led by Nick Holmes’ game-high 19 points. Longwood will play again after the Thanksgiving holiday, hosting NAIA Virginia-Wise in its home opener on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 3 p.m. in Willett Hall.
Longwood fell behind early against Yale as the Ivy League school scored the first six points of the game while leading 8-2 at the first media timeout (15:50). The Lancers battled back, however, tying the game at 10-10 (12:33) en route to taking a 21-11 advantage at 9:15 on a layup from freshman Bryan Butler/Woodbridge (Potomac) that capped the 19-3 run. Yale fought back to within 27-26 at 3:58 before LU again increased its margin, this time leading 37-28 at 1:12 on a pair of free throws by Butler as the Lancers took a 39-33 lead at the intermission.
Longwood scored the opening basket of the second half as junior Michael Jefferson/Chesterfield (Meadowbrook) made a jumper just 10-seconds in for the 41-33 lead. Jefferson’s three-pointer made the score 46-41 at 14:30 before Yale had a 7-2 run to tie the game at 48-48 (13:15). The Lancers led 53-49 on a three-pointer from sophomore Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg (Magruder) with 11:24 left, but the Bulldogs again tied the contest at 58-58 with 8:44 on the clock. Yale scored five unanswered points to lead 63-58 with 5:28 left before freshman Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) made back-to-back baskets inside to bring LU within 63-62 at 2:48.
A three-pointer from Butler tied the game for the fourth time at 65-65 (1:56), but the Bulldogs again responded and took a 69-65 lead with 1:02 left to play. A pair of free throws from Jefferson made it 69-67 (0:55), and Longwood made a defensive stop but missed a potential game-tying jumper with 18-seconds remaining. Yale converted 1-2 free throws at 0:17 to lead 70-67. Unfortunately, the Lancers were not successful on a pair of potential game-tying three-point attempts in the final five-seconds.
Sumter added five assists, three steals, and two blocks to his team-high 11 points for Longwood. Butler finished with 10 points, four rebounds, and two steals, while Jefferson had nine points and three assists while limited to 23 minutes after earning three fouls in the first 2:22 of the game. Williams had eight points and three rebounds, sophomore Dana Smith/Woodbridge (C.D. Hylton) had eight points and four rebounds, and junior Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute JC) added five points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Senior Chad Kosmo/Northport, Maine (St. Petersburg JC) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for the Lancers. Longwood shot 35% (23-65) from the field, including 28% (7-25) on three-pointers, and 61% (14-230 at the free throw line.
Holmes added eight rebounds to his game-high 19 points for Yale, while Sam Kaplan added 18 points. Eric Flato and Caleb Holmes each contributed 10 points for the Bulldogs, while Casey Hughes added a game-high 14 rebounds. Yale shot 38% (23-61) from the field, including 20% (2-10) on three-pointers, and 69% (22-32) at the line. Longwood did force the Bulldogs into 20 turnovers in the contest.
Longwood had earlier played host Nebraska (65-80) and Louisiana Tech (73-83) in the three-game exempt tournament to open the campaign.
