February 24, 2007
BOX SCORE
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Longwood University dropped a disappointing 74-72 men’s basketball road decision at Savannah State University Saturday in Georgia as Javon Randolph scored the winning basket with just 4.1-seconds remaining. Randolph led the Tigers (12-18) with a game-high 29 points, and made the decisive basket to defeat the Lancers for the second consecutive season at Savannah State. Senior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) led the visitors with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds as Longwood completed its 2006-07 season with a final record of 9-22.
It was a heartbreaking loss as Longwood led 69-64 with 2:02 remaining after 1-2 free throws by junior Lamar Barrett/Providence, R.I. (St. Andrews). Savannah State outscored the Lancers 10-3 over the final 1:47, taking advantage of an old-fashioned three-point play inside from Joshua Obiajunwa (69-67, 1:47) and a game-tying three-point field goal by Joseph Flegler (72-72, 0:16) – his only field goal of the game (1-7 FG, 1-4 3FG) -- along with four LU turnovers during the final 1:18. Randolph converted one of the miscues into a steal and layup at 0:04.1, and the visitors turned the ball over again on the final possession as well – unable to get a potential game-tying or game-winning shot attempt. Randolph had beat Longwood in Georgia a year ago, too, making a short jumper in the lane with five-seconds left for a 70-69 home win.
Randolph was on fire to open the game, making six of seven first-half three-point attempts to score 18 points and lead Savannah State to a 37-36 lead at the intermission. Sumter scored 12 first-half points to lead Longwood, while sophomore Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) added 10 points during the opening 20 minutes. The closely-played contest witnessed eight lead-changes in the first half, and four tie-scores as well.
The second half continued much like the first with four more tie-scores (eight total) and four additional lead-changes (12 total). Longwood finally seemed to gain a little control when it went ahead 50-49 at 9:27 on a jumper from Barrett. The Lancers led 59-55 with 7:17 left after three-straight three-pointers, including two from junior Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder). LU continued with its advantage down the stretch, leading 68-64 with 3:03 remaining after a three-point play by freshman Kevin Swecker/Manchester, Md. (Mount Saint Joseph), and the margin was five points (69-64) with just over two minutes left before Savannah State’s late heroics to get the win.
Sumter finished his brilliant Longwood career with his third double-double of the campaign, posting 18 points and 11 rebounds while adding three assists, three steals, and three blocks. Sumter tallied 1,604 career points to rank third all-time, and grabbed 667 career rebounds to rank second all-time. Williams and Swecker each added 13 points to the effort with Williams getting five rebounds as well for the Lancers. Giles, Barrett, and senior Husein Pistoljevic/Richland, Wash. (Hanford) each had eight points, while senior Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute) concluded his career with four points and four rebounds. LU shot 50% (26-52) from the field, including 47% (8-17) on three point field goals, and 80% (12-15) at the free throw line.
Randolph finished with 29 points (7-10 3FG) to lead Savannah State, and he had been somewhat limited in the second half before scoring four points in the final 49-seconds that included the game-winning layup. Obiajunwa added his own double-double with 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Tigers. SSU shot 48% (27-56) from the field, including 50% (10-20) on three-pointers, and 77% (10-13) at the line.
