January 21, 2006
BOX SCORE
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Longwood University dropped a 70-69 men’s basketball road decision at Savannah State Saturday in Georgia as Tiger Javon Randolph made a jumper in the lane with five-seconds remaining. Randolph led SSU (2-18) with a game-high 34 points, including 28 points in the second half. Junior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) led the Lancers (3-16) with 22 points. Longwood will play again on Saturday, Jan. 28, hosting the University of Hartford at 2 p.m. in Willett Hall on-campus in Farmville.
Playing with only eight scholarship student-athletes, Longwood led for 39:04 at Savannah State while playing its eighth-straight game away from Farmville and 14th game overall away from campus this season. Unfortunately, road games, like home games, last 40 minutes and the host Tigers had the lead when it counted – at the final buzzer. For SSU, it was only the program’s second win in 48 games after finishing 0-28 a year ago. For LU, it was the program’s 35th consecutive road loss dating to November 2003, though the team does return home for seven of the final 11 games this year.
Longwood led 4-0 early as Sumter connected on two quick baskets before Savannah State took its only lead of the first half at 7-6 (16:51) on a layup from Randolph. A pair of Sumter free throws made it 11-7 at 14:58, and a three-pointer from Sumter made it 14-9 at 11:58. The Lancers took their largest lead of the opening half at 20-13 with 8:30 left on a layup from junior Husein Pistoljevic/Richland, Wash. (Hanford), capping a 14-6 run. A pair of three-pointers by the Tigers made it 20-19 at 6:53 and it would remain close until the intermission. LU did lead 31-25 at 1:54 on an old-fashioned three-point play from junior Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute) en route to a 31-27 advantage at the break. Total Longwood lead-time in the first half: 19:48.
Sumter opened the second half with a layup and three-pointer to give Longwood a 36-29 lead at 19:25. Randolph responded with five points to spur Savannah State to within 45-42 with 14:02 remaining. The Lancers, however, ran off seven unanswered points to lead by double-digits for the first time at 52-42 (9:42), and maintained the advantage at 60-49 with 6:35 left to play. Randolph took over the game at this juncture, scoring 12 points for the Tigers to bring the hosts within 63-62 at 3:15. LU responded with three of four free throws from Morgan to lead 66-62 at 1:52. A Randolph layup tied the score at 66-66 (1:10) before Morgan made one of two free throws for a 67-66 lead at 0:55. Randolph’s jumper at 0:35 put SSU ahead 68-67 before Morgan tipped-in a missed shot at 11-seconds for a 69-68 lead. Randolph finally finished his second-half heroics with another jumper in the lane at 0:05 for the final 70-69 margin as the visitors did not get another attempt at the basket. Total Longwood lead-time in the second half: 19:06.
Sumter finished with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks to lead Longwood. Morgan finished with his fourth double-double this season of 18 points and 10 rebounds, adding three assists and two steals for the Lancers. Freshman Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) came off the bench to contribute 11 points and four rebounds. LU shot 44% (20-46) from the field, including 27% (3-11) on three-pointers, and 57% (26-46) at the free throw line – the devastating and disappointing difference in the game.
Randolph and his game-high 34 points included 14-21 shooting from the field, including one three-pointer (1-5), and 5-6 free throws – he was 11-13 from the field in the second half. The only other double-figure scorer for the Tigers was Terry Hill with 10 points. SSU also shot 44% (25-57) from the field, including 20% (3-15) on three-pointers, and a difference-making 77% (17-22) at the line while out-rebounding the visitors 37-33.
It was a game that featured little rhythm throughout as no (normal) media timeouts were utilized, and 49 personal fouls were called against the two squads that resulted in 68 free throws attempted between the two teams. Savannah State stopped an 18-game losing streak with the home win, while Longwood has lost five in-a row.
