December 7, 2007
BOX SCORE
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Longwood University battled the University of Virginia closely into the second half in men’s basketball Friday night before falling 76-57 at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. The Lancers (2-9) trailed just 29-22 at halftime, and were within 34-30 with 17 minutes remaining, while led by junior Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) with 20 points. The Cavaliers (7-2) took advantage of a 16-0 run during a 5:29 stretch of the second half and were led by All-American Sean Singletary with a game-high 21 points and eight assists. Longwood will play again next Saturday, December 15, at VCU in Richmond beginning at 7:30 p.m..
Longwood jumped ahead early at Virginia, leading 3-0 just 1:34 into the contest after a free throw by senior Danny Wilson/Pantego, N.C. (Louisburg JC) and a layup from classmate Lamar Barrett/Providence, R.I. (St. Andrews). The Cavaliers responded quickly, though, and scored the next eight points to lead 8-3 at 14:53 as Singletary contributed back-to-back jumpers. A three-point field goal from Williams made it 8-6 at 14:17 before UVA scored eight more unanswered points to lead 16-6 with 12:22 left until the intermission. The hosts took their largest lead of the first half at 21-10 with 6:08 left after a three-pointer from Singletary and a jumper by Adrian Joseph. The Lancers, however, refused to back down and closed to within 23-20 at 3:25 behind a 10-2 run led by Williams and junior Ryan Bogan/Oxford, Pa. (Harcum JC) with five points each. Virginia was able to outscore LU 6-2 over the final 44-seconds of the period to lead 29-22 at halftime, getting a three-point play from Calvin Baker and a late three-pointer by Mamadi Diane.
Longwood continued to play well into the second half and was within 34-30 at 16:51 after another three-point field goal by Williams. Virginia, though, finally managed to pull away from the determined Lancers with the 16-0 run from 16:35 to 11:06 as Joseph got it started with consecutive three-pointers, followed by a pair of baskets from Singletary, and another three-pointer from Baker -- when finished -- the Cavaliers of the ACC led 50-30. The visitors once-again fought back against the more-talented and bigger hosts and was within 54-40 at 7:54 as Wilson and Williams each scored four points during the 10-4 run. UVA put the game away with a 13-1 run to lead 67-41 with 3:45 left as Singletary added four more points and Joseph made another three-pointer. LU would not quit down the stretch and closed the margin again with four more three-pointers over the final 1:57, including two from Bogan, to provide for the final score of 76-57. Singletary finally sat down with just 1:47 left, and Joseph took a seat at 1:18.
Williams finished with 20 points (4-7 3FG) to lead Longwood, adding three assists and three steals. Bogan (3-7 3FG) added 11 points as the only other double-figure scorer along with five rebounds for the Lancers. Wilson had seven points and six rebounds. LU shot just 28% (17-60) from the field, including 39% (10-26) on three-pointers, and 72% (17-60) at the free throw line. The visitors also forced the hosts into 21 turnovers, though had 17 of their own.
Singletary (6-11 FG, 1-3 3FG, 8-8 FT) finished with 21 points and eight assists to lead Virginia, playing 33 minutes, while the 6-7 Joseph (3-8 3FG) had 13 points for the Cavaliers. Diane and Baker each contributed 11 points. UVA shot 45% (25-56) from the field, including 39% (9-23) on three-pointers, and 68% (17-25) at the line. Virginia out-rebounded Longwood 49-31.
Virginia has now won all three meetings between the two schools in men’s basketball, including a 90-49 victory last February 13. Longwood was playing its third game in seven days, and its 11th in 29 days to open the campaign -- seven away from campus.
