January 31, 2008

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University scored a season-high 102 points during a 102-73 men’s basketball victory past visiting Southern Virginia University Thursday night at Willett Hall in Farmville; stopping a recent eight-game losing streak as well. The Lancers (5-20) also set new season-highs in assists (34), steals (17), and three-point field goal shooting percentage (57.7%, 15-26) as five players scored in double-figures during the home triumph; led by senior Lamar Barrett/Providence, R.I. (St. Andrews) with a game-high 20 points and a career-high eight assists. The NAIA Knights (8-11) were led by Bryce Pendleton with a game-high 20 points as well. Longwood will play again on Monday, February 4, at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, New Jersey beginning at 7 p.m..

Longwood scored the first five points of the contest to lead 5-0 at 17:54 before Southern Virginia used an 8-3 run to take its only lead of the night at 8-7 with 16:06 on the clock. The Lancers took the lead for good at 10-8 on a three-pointer from junior Ryan Bogan/Oxford, Pa. (Harcum JC) at 15:52, and extended their advantage to 28-14 at 8:48 with a 21-6 run as six different players scored points. The hosts led by as many as 21 points in the first half at 44-23 with 4:21 left until the break as freshman Durann Neil/Pleasantville, N.J. (Leap Academy) tallied eight-straight points, including consecutive three-pointers. LU led 54-34 at the intermission as Barrett (13) and Neil (11) combined for 24 first-half points.

Longwood quickly extended its margin to 33 points at 77-44 at 13:16 with a 23-10 run to open the second half as junior Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) scored 10 points, including four fast-break slam dunks. The Lancers took their largest lead of the contest at 98-61 with 3:49 remaining on a three-pointer from sophomore Billy Robinson Jr./Columbia, Md. (Hammond), and the hosts hit the century mark on a slam dunk by freshman Brandon Evans/Roanoke (Roanoke Catholic), who had three blocks in seven minutes off the bench, at 1:13 to play.

Barrett finished with a game-high 20 points, adding a career-high eight assists along with three steals to lead Longwood. Williams finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists, while Neil had a career-high 16 points, including a career-high four three-pointers (4-8), as well as three assists and three steals off the bench. Bogan added 15 points and five assists for the Lancers, and Robinson Jr. had 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Senior Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder) dished out seven assists to go with his six points, and sophomore E.J. Dawson/Fort Belvoir (Mount Vernon) contributed career-highs of eight points, four assists, and three steals off the bench. LU shot 58% (39-67) from the field, including 68% (21-31) before halftime, a season-best 58% (15-26) on three-point field goals, and 90% (9-10) at the free throw line.

Bryce Pendleton finished with game-high 20 points (6-13 3FG), adding five steals to lead Southern Virginia, while Tanner Johnson had 13 points and six rebounds for the Knights. SVU shot 35% (23-66) from the field, including 29% (12-41) on three-pointers, and 75% (15-20) at the line.

Longwood now leads the all-time series between the two schools at 2-1 with two-straight wins past Southern Virginia.