January 7, 2006
BOX SCORE
VALPARAISO, Ind. – Longwood University dropped a 105-73 men’s basketball decision at Valparaiso University Saturday night in Indiana. Junior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) led the Lancers (3-14) with 17 points, while Don Oppland led six double-figure scorers for the Crusaders (8-4) with a game-high 19 points. Playing its fifth road game in 10 days at Valpo, Longwood will now take a 10-day break before returning to action Jan. 17 at Navy beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Annapolis, Maryland.
Longwood scored first at Valparaiso, leading 2-0 on a layup from junior Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute) just 15-seconds into the contest. Valpo quickly responded and took an 11-4 advantage at 16:43 on a layup from Oppland who scored all of his points in the first half. The Lancers fought back to within 13-11 on a pair of free throws from Sumter with 15:23 left in the opening period. The Crusaders again extended their margin, this time to double-digits, leading 28-17 at 10:21 on a jumper from Oppland. LU closed to within 39-31 at 4:56 on an old-fashioned three-point play from sophomore Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder) who kept the visitors close with 13 first-half points. Sumter also had 13 points at the intermission as Longwood trailed 56-45 at halftime.
Valparaiso, which had escaped with an 82-79 win at Longwood last month (Dec. 20), took control of the game with a 20-5 run to start the second half. The Crusaders led 76-50 with 14:26 remaining as Jarryd Loyd scored nine quick points, including a pair of three-point field goals. Valpo led by as many as 37 points late in the game (97-60, 5:20), securing the outcome with 63% (15-24) shooting from the field in the second half along with making 30-40 free throws during the contest.
Sumter finished with 17 points and four assists for Longwood, making 8-8 free throws, while Giles equaled his career-high with 13 points in just 16 minutes. Giles only played six minutes in the second half after suffering an ankle injury late in the first half. Junior Husein Pistoljevic/Richland, Wash. (Hanford) added nine points off the bench on 3-7 shooting from beyond the three-point arc, while Morgan finished with eight points and five rebounds. LU shot 37% (23-63) from the field, including 35% (8-23) on three-pointers, and 76% (19-25) at the free throw line.
Oppland’s 19 points led Valparaiso, followed by Shawn Huff with 18 points off the bench. Mohamed Kone added 16 points, Loyd had 14 points, Ron Howard had 12 points, and Urule Igbavboa contributed 10 points. Valpo shot 55% (33-60) from the field, including 50% (9-18) on three-pointers, and 75% (30-40) at the line.
Longwood junior Michael Jefferson/Chesterfield (Meadowbrook), the team’s leading scorer (13.4), had five points for the Lancers before another leg injury forced him to the bench about five minutes into the second half. Jefferson has missed two games, and seen limited action in two other games, after a pair of recent ankle injuries – the first suffered against Valpo in Farmville (Dec. 20).
