December 30, 2008

BOX SCORE

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Longwood University dropped a heartbreaking 81-80 men's basketball decision on the road at Navy Tuesday night in Annapolis, Maryland.  The host Midshipmen (9-4) got a pair of free throws from Kaleo Kina with just 7.3-seconds remaining after junior Kevin Swecker/Manchester, Md. (Mount Saint Joseph) had given the visiting Lancers (6-8) an 80-79 lead with a 17-foot baseline jumper with 11.2-seconds on the clock.  Longwood missed a potential game-winning layup just ahead of the final buzzer.  Kina led Navy with 21 points, while senior Ryan Bogan/Oxford, Pa. (Harcum JC) led the Lancers with 21 points as well.  Longwood will play again this Saturday night, January 3, 2009, hosting George Washington University of the Atlantic 10 Conference in Farmville at Willett Hall beginning at 7 p.m..  It will be “Community Night” against the Colonials from Washington, D.C. as Longwood Athletics is offering FREE admission for all youth ages 13 and under.
 
Longwood scored the first basket of the game at Navy as redshirt-junior Dana Smith/Woodbridge (C.D. Hylton) made a layup at 19:35.  The Midshipmen, however, answered with a 10-1 run to lead 10-3 at 16:31. The Lancers battled back to tie the game at 14-14 with 12:31 left in the half after a three-point field goal from freshman Martiz Washington/Hopewell (Christchurch).  The visitors led 27-25 at 5:58 on a layup from junior Billy Robinson Jr./Columbia, Md. (Hammond).  The hosts, though, closed the half with a 19-7 run to lead 44-34 at the intermission.  The run was fueled by five three-pointers, including three from Chris Harris who had 16 first-half points.  Kina had 14 points at the break, as did Smith for LU.
 
Navy took its largest lead at 49-34 early in the second half at 18:57 before Longwood used a 13-4 run to pull within 51-47 at 13:30 on another layup from Robinson.  The Midshipmen again extended their margin, this time to 64-51 at 9:13 with their own 13-4 run.  The Lancers, though, refused to quit and fought back down the stretch and were within 66-63 at 5:37 on a layup from Smith.  Swecker's rare four-point play on a made three-pointer and subsequent free throw made it 77-74 at 2:23, and margin remained the same at 79-76 after Bogan made two free throws at 2:02 before his jumper at 1:38 had the visitors within 79-78 to set-up the back-and-forth action of the final 30-seconds.
 
Bogan finished with his game-high 21 points, including 17 points in the second half, adding seven rebounds, a career-high five steals, and four assists to lead Longwood.  Smith had 19 points and seven rebounds while limited in the second half with foul problems before fouling out late (0:44) for the Lancers. Swecker contributed 13 points, including 11 points in the second half, and Washington had nine points (3-4 3FG) off the bench.  Sophomore Durann Neil/Pleasantville, N.J. (Leap Academy) added nine points (3-6 3FG) as well, while Robinson had eight points and five rebounds off the bench too.  LU shot 44% (30-69) from the field, including 44% (12-27) on three-point field goals (season-high 12), and 67% (8-12) at the free throw line.
 
Kina finished with his game-high 21 points as well leading Navy.  Harris had 20 points, and Mark Veazey added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Midshipmen.  Navy shot 50% (30-60) from the field, including 38% (8-21) on three-pointers, and 59% (13-22) at the line.  For the 14th-straight contest, Longwood forced more turnovers than it committed as the hosts had 17 miscues to only 10 by the Lancers.  Unfortunately, Navy now leads the all-time series between the two schools in men's basketball at 6-0.