February 20, 2006
BOX SCORE
HAMPTON, Va. – Longwood University led from start to finish en route to a 69-66 men’s basketball road victory at Hampton University Monday night in Hampton. The Lancers (9-19) halted a 38-game road losing streak with the hard-earned win, led by junior Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute) with his sixth double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Pirates (11-13) were led by Rashad West with 19 points. Longwood, with two-straight wins and six wins in the past nine games overall, will play again on Saturday, Feb. 25, hosting Savannah State in Willett Hall on-campus in Farmville at 2 p.m..
At Hampton, Longwood never trailed after jumping ahead 17-7 at 13:49 on a three-point field goal from sophomore Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder), and seven quick points from junior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams). The Lancers continued to lead by double figures in the first half, and took their largest lead of the game at 30-13 (17 points) with 4:25 left until halftime on a jumper from sophomore Dana Smith/Woodbridge (C.D. Hylton). Morgan scored five points during the stretch, including a three-pointer. The Pirates rallied with a 10-2 run to close to within 32-23 at 2:05, but LU led 37-26 at the intermission as Morgan scored inside just before the break. Morgan and Sumter each tallied 11 points in the first half as Longwood shot 62% (13-21) from the field during the first 20 minutes.
Longwood extended the lead to 44-30 early in the second half at 17:27 as Giles hit a jumper followed by two free throws and a three-pointer from Sumter. The Lancers still led by 10 points at 46-36 with 11:37 remaining on a jumper from freshman Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands). Hampton, however, battled back to within 51-50 as Jeff Granger scored eight points, and West added six points during a 14-5 run. The Pirates finally tied the game at 55-55 with 6:51 left, but LU quickly responded with eight unanswered points, including five points from Giles with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer. Two more free throws by Giles made it 67-58 at 1:05 before HU made it interesting by scoring eight of the final 10 points of the game over the last 56-seconds as Longwood made just 2-6 free throws down the stretch to allow the hosts stay close.
Morgan finished with game-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double to lead Longwood. Sumter added 19 points and seven rebounds along with four assists, while Giles had 13 points and a game-high five assists for the Lancers. Smith contributed nine points and four assists, including a pair of impressive dunks – one in each half. LU shot 47% (23-49) from the field, including 39% (5-13) on three-pointers, and 64% (18-28) at the free throw line.
West came off the bench to score 19 points to lead Hampton, while Granger added 16 points for the Pirates. HU shot just 30% (21-69) from the field, including 22% (5-23) on three-pointers, and 70% (19-27) at the line.
Longwood and Hampton were playing for the first-time ever in men’s basketball. The road win by the Lancers was their first true road win since Nov. 25, 2003, a 63-62 win at Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) – stopping a 38-game road losing streak, though LU has won two neutral-site games during this same period. Additionally, at 9-19, Longwood is at eight games ahead of last year’s win total (1-30) with two home games remaining this season. The nine wins are also more than the previous two seasons combined (6-52).
