December 23, 2006
BOX SCORE
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Longwood University rallied from a late seven-point deficit in regulation to force overtime en route to an 87-85 men’s basketball victory past Kennesaw State University Saturday in the fifth-place game of the 2006 Findlay Toyota/Las Vegas Classic at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The Lancers (5-10) won their second-straight game as senior Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute) scored a career-high 32 points, including the game-tying basket to force the extra period at the end of regulation. The Owls (3-9) were led by Ronell Wooten with 25 points. Longwood will play again after the Christmas holiday, hosting American University on December 30 in Willett Hall beginning at 3 p.m..
Longwood trailed Kennesaw State 68-61 with 2:24 left in regulation before closing with a 12-5 run to tie the game at 73-73 after 40 minutes. Sophomore Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) made a three-point field goal from the top of the key at 0:10.8 to bring the Lancers within 72-71. After 1-2 free throws by the Owls (73-71, 0:10.2), Morgan got the ball on the left wing and put up a running 15-foot jumper that fell through the net at the final buzzer to force the extra five-minute period. Morgan scored six points down the stretch while senior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) also added an important basket with 22-seconds remaining (71-68).
Longwood junior Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder) took over in the OT with 10 points, making a three-pointer, a jumper, and three free throws in the first 3:13 as the Lancers led 83-75 with 1:47 remaining. Giles added two more free throws with 43-seconds left, making 5-5 at the line in the extra period. Kennesaw State made it close again with 10 points over the final 1:28, though missing a potential game-winning three-point attempt at the final buzzer. The closely-played contest had the Lancers leading 31-30 at the intermission before the Owls outscored Longwood 43-42 in the second half.
Morgan scored a career-high and game-high 32 points to lead Longwood, making 13-19 shots from the field (1-1 3FG) and 5-5 at the free throw line. He just missed a double-double with nine rebounds in 38 minutes while earning All-Tournament Team honors. Williams did get a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Lancers who had five players reach double-figure scoring: Sumter (13), Giles (12), and senior Husein Pistoljevic/Richland, Wash. (Hanford) (12). Sumter also had six assists and five rebounds, while Giles added seven assists to his effort (5-5 FT). LU shot 48% (32-67) from the field, including 47% (8-17) on three-pointers, and 71% (15-21) at the line.
Wooten led four double-figure scorers for Kennesaw State with his 25 points, adding eight rebounds. Others for the Owls included Shaun Stegall with a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds, Golden Ingle with 16 points, and Brent Ragsdale with 15 points. KSU shot 41% (29-70) from the field, including 30% (7-23) on three-pointers, and 74% (20-27) at the line.
Longwood finished 2-0 in Las Vegas for fifth-place in the eight-team tournament. The Lancers, along with three other schools (Charleston Southern, Kennesaw State, and Maryland-Eastern Shore), each had to play two games on the road before arriving in Las Vegas. Longwood (2-0) defeated CSU (0-2) 73-67 on Friday, while KSU (1-1) defeated UMES 67-49. UMES (1-1) than defeated CSU 74-49 on Saturday.
