December 30, 2006
BOX SCORE
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University took an exciting 81-79 men’s basketball overtime victory past visiting American University Saturday afternoon in Willett Hall, its third-straight win. Senior Husein Pistoljevic/Richland, Wash. (Hanford) put the Lancers (6-10) ahead for good with his fourth three-point field goal at 1:03 in OT; finishing with 12 points while making 4-5 from three-point territory. The hard-fought home triumph also avenged a 60-49 loss to the Eagles (7-6) earlier this month on December 4 in Washington, D.C.. Longwood will play again on Tuesday, January 2, on the road at BIG EAST Conference member Providence College in Rhode Island beginning at 7:30 p.m..
Longwood and American battled back-and-forth throughout with eight ties and four lead-changes, deadlocked at 68-68 after regulation. In the extra period, the Eagles led 76-72 with 2:52 remaining before eight unanswered points gave the Lancers an 80-76 advantage with 14-seconds remaining. Pistoljevic’s fourth three-pointer at 1:03 had the hosts ahead 77-76, and two free throws by senior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) made it 80-76 at 0:14. An AU three-pointer at 0:04 made it 80-79, but Sumter added 1-2 free throws with three-seconds left as the Eagles missed a potential game-winning three-point attempt at the buzzer.
Longwood had opened with the first eight points of the contest, leading 8-0 at 16:57 as Pistoljevic buried two early three-pointers. Following a timeout, American closed to within 10-9 at 14:38 as Derrick Mercer scored six points and Andre Ingram added a three-pointer. The Lancers, however, increased the margin to 17-9 just 1:19 later as junior Lamar Barrett/Providence, R.I. (St. Andrews) nailed a three-pointer before consecutive lay-ups from sophomore Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands). Longwood still led 28-23 at 8:03 before the Eagles took advantage of a 14-2 run to lead 37-30 at 2:41 as Ingram scored seven quick points. The Lancers scored the last six points of the period to close to within 39-38 at the intermission.
Longwood continued its momentum in the second half, capping a 17-2 run with two more three-pointers from Barrett to lead 49-41 with 17:22 remaining. American closed again and led 54-53 at 12:05 as Brayden Billbe scored four-straight points. The closely-played game was tied three times down the stretch (56-56, 10:55; 59-59, 9:23; 63-63, 7:30) before the Eagles took a 66-63 lead at 1:54 on a free throw from Ingram, and the visitors led 68-65 at 1:11 on two free throws by Arvyda Eitutavicius. The Lancers closed to within 68-67 on two free throws by senior Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute) with 58-seconds left in regulation, and Morgan tied it at 68-68 with another free throw at 0:24. American had three potential scoring opportunities in the lane during the final five-seconds but Sumter blocked the first attempt and Morgan blocked the final attempt at the buzzer to send the game to OT.
Sumter and Morgan each finished with team-highs of 16 points each to lead Longwood as Sumter added eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks and Morgan contributed four rebounds and two blocks (career-high) as well. Barrett had a season-high 15 points (3-4 3FG), while Pistoljevic added the 12 points (4-5 3FG) for the Lancers. Junior Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder) added nine points, six assists, and four steals. LU shot 46% (29-63) from the field, including a season-high 59% (10-17) on three-point field goals, and 68% (13-19) at the free throw line.
Ingram finished with a game-high 21 points to lead American, while Eitutavicius added 19 points off the bench. Brian Gilmore had 11 points off the bench as well for the Eagles, while Mercer contributed 10 points and nine assists. AU shot 41% (31-76) from the field, including 39% (9-23) on three-pointers, and 80% (8-10) at the line.
