December 20, 2005
BOX SCORE
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University dropped a heartbreaking 82-79 men’s basketball decision to visiting Valparaiso University Tuesday night in Willett Hall. The Lancers (2-9) missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds after battling back from a 45-36 halftime deficit; led by juniors Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute) and Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) with 25 points each, a career-high for Morgan and a season-high for Sumter. The Crusaders (5-3) were led by Ron Howard with 20 points, while Dan Oppland added 19 points. Longwood will play again on Thursday, Dec. 22, at VCU for the first-time ever in Richmond beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Siegel Center.
In a hard-fought and closely-contested game throughout, Longwood and Valparaiso played to 10 lead-changes and seven ties over the 40 minutes. The Lancers led 4-2 at 18:48 on a dunk from junior Michael Jefferson/Chesterfield (Meadowbrook) before the Crusaders took advantage of a 15-6 run behind eight points from Howard to lead 17-10 at 14:36. LU closed to within 22-19 at 12:18 as Sumter made a pair of free throws, and was within 27-21 at 9:43 on a layup from sophomore Lamar Barrett/Providence, R.I. (St. Andrews). Valpo, however, went on a quick 8-1 run sparked by consecutive three-pointers from Seth Colclasure to take their largest lead of the night at 35-22 with 7:15 left in the first half. Longwood again battled back, though, and was within 37-29 at 4:28 on a basket inside from Morgan, and the Lancers trailed just 42-34 at 2:01 on an old fashioned three-point play from Morgan. After a three-pointer from Oppland, Morgan made a pair of free throws to provide for the 45-36 Valparaiso lead at the intermission.
Jefferson, LU’s leading scorer (15.6), went down during the first minute of the second half with an ankle injury and did not return. Longwood refused to let the injury affect them, scoring the first 10 points of the second half to lead 46-45 at 16:37 as Sumter tallied six points and Morgan had four points. A layup from Oppland put Valparaiso back ahead 52-50 at 13:45 before the Lancers once-again forged in front with a 12-2 run as sophomore Dana Smith/Woodbridge (C.D. Hylton) scored 10 points for a 62-54 lead at 10:54. A layup from freshman Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) gave LU its largest lead at 66-57 with 9:52 left. Valpo ran off 10 unanswered points to lead 67-66 at 6:53 and it was back-and-forth down the stretch.
A layup from Morgan tied the game at 70-70 (5:13), and a three-pointer from Sumter tied it again at 73-73 (3:39). Ali Berdiel put Valparaiso ahead for good at 75-73 with a pair of free throws at 3:31, and a Howard layup put the Crusaders ahead 78-74 at 2:07. Longwood was within 78-77 with 40-seconds left on a layup from Barrett who had made 1-2 free throws at 1:38. A jumper from Shawn Huff with 29-seconds remaining made it 80-77 before Morgan made a pair of free throws at 0:22 to pull the Lancers within 80-79. Huff added two free throws with 11-seconds left for his only four points of the game and the final margin as LU missed it potential game-tying three-pointer at the end.
Morgan added a game-high 13 rebounds to his career-high 25 points for his second career double-double, adding a career-best five assists for Longwood. Sumter added seven rebounds and five assists to his season-high of 25 points for the Lancers, while Smith finished with 11 points, all scored in the second half. LU shot 43% (30-70) from the field, including just 14% (2-14) on three-pointers, and 85% (17-20) at the free throw line. The Lancers did force Valpo into 21 turnovers for the contest, and the two teams tied in rebounding at 37-37.
In addition to Howard (20) and Oppland (19), Colclasure added 14 points while Mohamed Kone had 12 rebounds and four blocks. Valparaiso shot 50% (29-58) from the field, including 43% (9-21) on three-pointers, and 68% (15-22) at the line.
