December 5, 2005
BOX SCORE
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Longwood University put a scare into Kansas State University of the Big 12 Conference for a half Monday night before falling 89-60 in men’s basketball action at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. The Lancers (2-6) led for much of the opening half against the Wildcats (5-1) who only had a 36-35 advantage at the intermission. Junior Michael Jefferson/Chesterfield (Meadowbrook) led LU with 16 points while surpassing 1,000 career points (1,005), and Lance Harris led KSU with a game-high 26 points. Longwood will play again Saturday, Dec. 10, against #4 Villanova University in Atlantic City, New Jersey beginning at 7:30 p.m. in storied Boardwalk Hall.
At Kansas State, a team that was ranked #1 in one College RPI ratings service before a 58-57 loss at Washington State last Saturday (Dec. 3), Longwood took an early 3-2 lead on a three-pointer from freshman Bryan Butler/Woodbridge (Potomac) at 17:30. Another three-pointer, this time from Jefferson, pushed the Lancers ahead 10-7 just 6:43 into the game. A Harris trey tied it at 10-10 before an 11-2 run gave LU its largest lead of the night at 21-12 with 11:03 left in the opening half. Butler nailed two three-pointers during the quick outburst, while Jefferson also made another triple along with a jumper. The run by the visitors forced Wildcat head coach Jim Wooldridge to call not one, but two timeouts during the 1:31 span.
Longwood still led 26-19 at 7:27 on a layup from junior Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute). Kansas State, however, fought back with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 28-28 with 4:14 left before halftime as Cartier Martin scored five points. A key play took place on the next Lancer possession as junior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) looked to score on an offensive rebound basket inside that appeared to be goaltending on the Wildcats. It was not called, however, and the blocked shot resulted in a K-State dunk at the other end of the floor and a 30-28 lead at 3:50 – the first lead for the hosts since leading 4-3 at 17:22. The visitors did close the half with four free throws to trail just 36-35 at the break as the small crowd of 4,553 was as stunned as the Wildcats.
Kansas State came out in the second half and finally took advantage of its bigger, stronger, and deeper lineup against a Longwood team that simply ran out of steam. The Wildcats outscored the Lancers 22-2 to lead 58-37 at 9:58, and the hosts never looked back against the worn-out guests. Harris scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half as K-State led by as many as 33 points (80-47, 3:39). It was the first time this season that LU had trailed by over 30 points. The Lancer reserves did play well over the final 3:24, outscoring the KSU bench 13-9 for the final margin. Longwood did become the first team this season to score 60 points against the Wildcats.
Jefferson was 4-6 on three-pointers while scoring his team-high 16 points to lead Longwood, becoming only the 14th 1,000-point career scorer in the program’s history. Butler finished with nine points on 3-4 shooting behind the arc, though all of his points came in the first half. Morgan just missed his second double-double in as many games, finishing with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. Sumter added six points and six rebounds for the Lancers. LU shot 33% (21-64) from the field, including 43% (9-21) on three-pointers, and 53% (9-17) at the free throw line.
Harris was 4-8 on three-pointers while scoring his game-high 26 points for Kansas State, adding five assists. Martin finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, below his averages of 22 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats. David Hoskins and Mario Taybron/Hampton (Eastern Oklahoma CC) each contributed 12 points off the bench for the hosts, while Serge Afeli grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for K-State who out-rebounded LU 45-38. KSU shot 48% (35-73) from the field, though 58% (19-33) in the second half, adding 50% (6-12) on three-pointers, and 81% (13-16) at the line.
Kansas State was the second Big 12 Conference opponent for Longwood this season as the Lancers opened the campaign with an 80-65 loss at the University of Nebraska during the John Thompson Foundation Challenge hosted by the Cornhuskers Nov. 18-20. Ironically and unexpectedly enough, a group of four Nebraska “Red Zone” students made the two-plus hour drive to Manhattan from Lincoln to support the Lancers Monday night, some wearing make-shift “Blue Zone” tee-shirts while sitting right behind the LU team bench.
Longwood’s game against nationally-ranked #4 Villanova in Atlantic City on Saturday night will be the fourth Top Twenty opponent for the Lancers in less than a year. Last season, LU played at #1 Illinois (79-105, Dec. 27), against #17 Cincinnati (69-95, Dec. 30) in Las Vegas, and at #6 Wake Forest (47-88, Feb. 23). The highly-anticipated contest to be played in historic Boardwalk Hall will be the first men’s college basketball game in Atlantic City in nine years.
