February 22, 2008
BOX SCORE
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University took a 79-68 season-ending men’s basketball victory past visiting Liberty University Friday night at Willett Hall in Farmville. The Lancers (9-22) closed the campaign with their third-straight win, and fifth win in the final seven games as five players scored in double-figures; led by junior Ryan Bogan/Oxford, Pa. (Harcum JC) with a career-high 23 points and senior Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder) with a career-high 11 assists to go along with his 12 points. The Flames (14-14) were led by Anthony Smith with a game-high 24 points, and Alex McLean added 23 points. On Senior Night, Longwood avenged a road loss back in late November at Liberty (91-67) while also defeating the Flames for the ninth-straight time at Willett Hall since 1982.
Longwood scored first when senior Lamar Barrett/Providence, R.I. (St. Andrews) made 1-2 free throws at 19:48 to open the contest. Liberty quickly took a 9-4 advantage at 17:30 as Smith (5) and McLean (4) combined for the early points. The game was tied three times in the first half as the two teams battled closely during the opening 20 minutes in front of a near-capacity crowd of 1,622, the largest of the season at Willett Hall (1,729). The last tie was at 23-23 with 6:42 left until halftime as junior Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) scored six points and sophomore Kevin Swecker/Baltimore, Md. (Mount Saint Joseph) added five points, while Smith tallied 10 quick points for the Flames. The Lancers took the lead for good at 26-23 on a three-point field goal by Bogan at 5:48, and the hosts closed the period with a 12-8 run to lead 35-31 at the intermission. Bogan had eight points at the break, while Smith led all scorers with 14 first-half points.
Longwood never trailed over the final 25:48, though Liberty did manage to close to within one point at 40-39 with 16:11 remaining on a three-point play inside by McLean. The Lancers, however, took control with a 17-5 run to lead 57-44 at 11:23 as five different players scored points, including Swecker (5), Williams (4), Bogan (3), Giles (3), and sophomore Billy Robinson Jr./Columbia, Md. (Hammond) (2). The Flames were no closer than 11 points on just two occasions over the remainder of the contest (57-46, 10:50), including the final margin of 79-68. The hosts led by as many as 17 points at 67-50 with 7:45 on the clock when Bogan made his fifth of a career-best seven three-pointers. Included during the stretch was the first career dunk by Barrett in his final game wearing a Longwood uniform, a fast-break flush with one hand at 9:06 for a 64-48 advantage. Barrett fouled out with 4:11 left, leaving to a standing ovation by the home crowd with five points, five rebounds, and three assists while limited to 21 minutes due to foul trouble.
Bogan finished with a career-high 23 points, including 7-10 three-pointers, to lead Longwood. Williams had 14 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and four steals for the Lancers. Others included Giles with 12 points (4-7 3FG) and a career-high 11 assists -- with zero turnovers -- along with Swecker (12) and Robinson (10) off the bench. Senior Danny Wilson/Pantego, N.C. (Louisburg JC) did not score in his final appearance, but had six rebounds in 14 minutes. LW shot 51% (31-61) from the field, including 41% (13-32) on three-point field goals, and 67% (4-6) at the free throw line. The hosts out-rebounded the visitors 33-29, and outscored the visiting bench 25-14.
Smith finished with a game-high 24 points, adding eight rebounds to lead Liberty, while McLean had 23 points for the Flames. LU shot 47% (22-47) from the field, including 26% (6-23) on three-pointers, and 78% (18-23) at the line.
Longwood now leads the all-time series between the two schools at 17-8, including the nine consecutive homecourt wins. Barrett finished his career with 121 starts in 123 career games -- tied for 1st in career games (123). He ranks 5th in career blocks (81), 7th in career rebounds (581), 8th in career field goal attempts (985), 10th in career steals (139), and tied for 10th in career assists (251). Barrett totaled 983 career points while falling just short of the magical 1,000 career points. Giles finished his career with 80 starts in 123 career games -- tied for 1st in career games (123). He ranks 3rd in career assists (380), 5th in career three-point field goals (114) and career three-point field goal attempts (347), and 8th in career assist average (3.1). Giles totaled 595 career points and 253 career rebounds as well.
