February 6, 2007
BOX SCORE
FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University dropped an 81-63 men’s basketball decision to visiting Florida Atlantic University Tuesday night in Willett Hall. The Owls (11-13) were led by 6-8, 245-pound sophomore Carlos Monroe with a double-double of 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while the Lancers (8-18) were led by senior Maurice Sumter/Alexandria (T.C. Williams) with a game-high 24 points. Longwood is idle until next week on Tuesday, February 13, when the program will travel to Charlottesville to play the University of Virginia in the new John Paul Jones Arena at 7 p.m..
Longwood scored the first four points against Florida Atlantic but that was about all that would go right on the night in a contest that did not even get started until nearly 8:30 p.m. following a women’s game that had tipped after 6 p.m.. Sumter and classmate Clayton Morgan/Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fashion Institute) tallied the first two baskets before the Owls responded with seven unanswered points to lead 7-4 at 16:44 and they never trailed again. The two teams did compete evenly for most of the opening half with five ties and three early lead-changes, and the Lancers were within 28-26 at 6:56 as Morgan (12) and Sumter (10) combined to score 22 of the 26 points. Florida Atlantic, though, would shut-down the duo for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes and outscore the hosts 15-5 over the final 6:25 to lead 43-31 at the intermission as Monroe scored 11 first-half points. Teammates Jeff Parmer (6-8, 235) and Paul Graham III each added 10 points in the half as FAU shot 63% (17-27) from the field, including 75% (3-4) on three-pointers.
Longwood tried to rally back into the contest in the opening minutes of the second half with an 8-2 run, closing to within 45-39 at 17:11 on a pair of free throws from Sumter. Florida Atlantic, however, answered with seven-straight points that began a decisive 14-4 run and a 59-43 advantage with 11:00 remaining, getting points from six different players. The Lancers could get no closer than 12 points (59-47, 10:08) the rest of the way as the Owls built their lead to as many as 21 points (71-50, 7:22) on one occasion en route to the final 18-point margin.
Sumter finished with a game-high 24 points to lead Longwood, adding two assists, two blocks, and two steals. Morgan had 17 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) contributed eight points and four rebounds off the bench for the Lancers. LU shot 40% (25-63) from the field, including 18% (3-17) on three-point field goals, and 56% (10-18) at the free throw line.
Monroe finished with the double-double of 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to lead Florida Atlantic. The Owls had three other players reach double-figure scoring, including Parmer (16 points), Graham III (13), and DeAndre Rice (10). Parmer added eight rebounds as the visitors took a 45-28 advantage on the boards, while Rice was limited to 11 points below his average (20.7), following a 39-point effort in his last game. FAU shot 58% (34-59) from the field, including 60% (6-10) on three-pointers, and 58% (7-12) at the line.
