January 17, 2006
BOX SCORE
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Longwood University dropped a hard-fought 71-65 men’s basketball decision at Navy Tuesday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Maryland. The Lancers (3-15) were led by junior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) with 19 points, while the Midshipmen (7-9) were led by Corey Johnson with 19 points. Longwood will play again on Saturday, Jan. 21, at Savannah State (1-18) beginning at 4 p.m. in Georgia while closing an eight-game road stretch.
At Navy, Longwood fell behind 3-0 before Sumter scored a pair of baskets for a 4-3 lead at 17:58. The Midshipmen went back in front 10-6 at 16:04 before the Lancers went on an 11-0 run fueled by a pair of three-point field goals from junior Husein Pistoljevic/Richland, Wash. (Hanford) to lead 17-10 with 11:34 left before the break. A three-pointer from junior Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute) made it 22-17 at 5:38 before the hosts used a 12-7 run to tie the game at 29-29 at the intermission.
Navy connected on consecutive three-pointers to open the second half and led 35-29 at 18:23. A jumper from Sumter made it 35-33 with 17:20 remaining before an 8-2 run gave the Midshipmen a 43-35 lead at 15:09 capped by a three-pointer from Johnson. The Lancers battled back with a 10-2 run to tie the contest at 45-45 with 11:37 left, only to have the hosts go back ahead 52-47 at 8:18. LU again fought back and tied the score at 52-52 on a three-point play from Sumter at 6:11, and the visitors took their only lead of the second half at 54-52 on a pair of free throws from sophomore Dana Smith/Woodbridge (C.D. Hylton).
Navy, however, responded with a 13-4 run to take a 65-58 advantage with 3:07 left on the clock sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from Greg Sprink. A pair of baskets from Sumter and a free throw from Smith cut the lead to 65-63 at 1:43, and Longwood had an opportunity to tie the game with 59-seconds left but freshman Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) missed two free throws. The Lancers were within 67-65 at 0:18 on two free throws from sophomore Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder), but the Midshipmen made 4-4 free throws over the final 13-seconds for the final margin.
Sumter finished with his game-high 19 points, adding seven rebounds and five steals. Morgan added 15 points, eight rebounds, and three steals, while Smith just missed his first collegiate double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Williams had eight points and six rebounds, while Pistoljevic also added eight points for the Lancers. LU shot 37% (24-65) from the field, including just 14% (3-22) on three-pointers, and 67% (14-210 at the line.
Johnson finished with his game-high 19 points that included a trio of three-pointers, while Sprink added a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds along with six assists. Kaleo Kina added 13 points for the Midshipmen. Navy shot 42% (23-55) from the field, though shot 48% (13-27) in the second half, including 45% (9-20) on three-pointers (6-12 in second half), and 76% (16-21) at the line.
Longwood forced 23 Navy turnovers but committed 21 turnovers of its own while the closely-played game witnessed eight lead-changes and five ties. The two squads each grabbed 41 rebounds.
