February 15, 2006

BOX SCORE

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Longwood University dropped a 91-56 men’s basketball road decision at the University of Virginia Wednesday night in Charlottesville at University Hall. The Lancers (7-19) were led by junior Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute) with 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while the Cavaliers (13-9) were led by Sean Singletary with a game-high 20 points. Longwood will play again this Saturday, Feb. 18, hosting James Madison University at 3 p.m. in Willett Hall on-campus in Farmville.

At Virginia, Longwood played well early as Morgan’s jumper tied the game at 2-2 just 1:29 into the contest. Back-to-back three-point field goals from sophomores Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder) and Dana Smith/Woodbridge (C.D. Hylton), and a layup from junior Husein Pistoljevic/Richland, Wash. (Hanford) had the Lancers within 12-10 at 15:34. A 10-2 run by the Cavaliers increased the margin to 22-12 with 13:18 left as Singletary had a three-pointer. A pair of free throws from Smith made it 24-16 at 11:39 before the hosts used another 10-2 run to lead 34-18 at 9:07. LU fought back to within 34-22 with 8:32 remaining in the period before hot-shooting UVA closed the half with a 24-12 run to take a commanding 58-34 lead at the intermission.

Virginia shot 62% (21-34) from the field, including 54% (7-13) on three-pointers, and 83% (9-11) at the free throw line during the first 20 minutes. Singletary scored 15 points in the opening half to lead the Cavaliers. Longwood also shot very well at 59% (13-22) from the field in the first half, led by Smith with 10 points and Morgan with nine points.

The Cavaliers increased their advantage to 30 points at 66-36 just 3:45 into the second half and the Lancers were not closer than 26 points, on a couple of occasions, the rest of the way. UVA finally took its largest lead with the final margin of 35 points, outscoring LU 10-1 over the final 1:58 of the contest.

Morgan just missed a double-double with his 11 points and game-high nine rebounds, while freshman Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) also finished with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. Smith had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lancers. LU shot 35% (19-54) from the field, including just 13% (2-16) on three-pointers, and 55% (16-29) at the line.

Singletary added five rebounds and four assists to his game-high 20 points, including 4-7 three-pointers, to lead Virginia. J.R. Reynolds finished with 16 points, including 4-9 three-pointers, scoring 11 points in the second half. Adrian Joseph added 11 points for the Cavaliers. UVA finished the game at 49% (33-67) from the field, including 41% (11-27) on three-pointers, and 78% (14-18) at the line. Virginia also out-rebounded Longwood 40-35.

The game marked the first-time that Longwood and Virginia have played in men’s basketball, and only the second Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent ever faced by the Lancers. Longwood also played without its leading scorer, junior captain Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) (15.0 points), who missed the game with an injury – a decision that occurred less than four hours before game-time. Additionally, Giles only played 14 minutes in the first half before leaving with an injury as well. The Lancers competed with only seven healthy scholarship players, along with three walk-on student-athletes – junior Darren Holmes/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) finished with seven points and a career-high four rebounds while playing 10 minutes.

The game against James Madison on Saturday at 3 p.m. will include the unveiling of the new Longwood University Athletics logo prior to tip-off.