February 9, 2008
BOX SCORE
FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University dropped a disappointing 69-66 men’s basketball decision to visiting Savannah State University Saturday afternoon at Willett Hall in Farmville; a closely-played contest that featured 12 lead-changes and 14 ties. The Lancers (6-21) were led by senior Lamar Barrett/Providence, R.I. (St. Andrews) who matched his career-high with 23 points, adding a season-high 12 rebounds, while the Tigers (11-16) were led by Chris Linton with 14 points. Longwood will play again on Monday, February 11, on the road at Florida Atlantic University of the Sun Belt Conference in Boca Raton, Florida beginning at 7 p.m..
Longwood had control early in the contest, leading 15-7 at 13:23 on a jumper from junior Kirk Williams/White Plains, N.Y. (Woodlands) who scored five quick points along with four points by Barrett and three-point field goals from senior Brandon Giles/Gaithersburg, Md. (Magruder) and junior Ryan Bogan/Oxford, Pa. (Harcum JC). Savannah State scored seven unanswered points to close to within 15-14 at 10:19, and the Tigers led 22-20 with 6:42 left until halftime on a layup from Patrick Hardy. The Lancers, though, outscored the visitors 9-4 over the final 5:48 of the period to lead 29-26 at the intermission as Bogan finished the first half with eight points to lead the hosts.
Savannah State scored the first five points of the second half to lead 31-29 at 17:53 after a dunk from Linton and a three-pointer from Joseph Flegler. Longwood responded and took a 40-34 advantage at 12:03 with an 11-3 run sparked by Barrett (5), Williams (4), and Giles (2). The Tigers again battled back to tie the score at 41-41 with 10:13 left, and the game was either tied or the Lancers had the lead until less than three minutes remained. The visitors re-took the lead at 54-52 with 2:40 on the clock on a jumper from Lazarius Coleman but Barrett made it 55-54 with a jumper and free throw at 1:58. Linton added a layup for SSU at 1:45 (55-56), and made 1-2 free throws at 0:40 (55-57) before Williams scored inside to tie it at 57-57 with 13.5-seconds remaining. After timeouts from each team, Savannah State was working for the last shot when it appeared to lose control of the ball in traffic near the foul line extended in front of its bench -- Longwood appeared to gain control toward what looked like a potential game-winning fast-break basket when a late whistle sounded and the resulting foul allowed Raye Bailey to make two free throws at 5.6-seconds and a 59-57 visitor lead. Fortunately, Barrett was fouled at the other end with 0:00.9 on the clock and made both free throws to send the game to overtime tied at 59-59.
In overtime, Savannah State took a 64-62 lead at 3:56 after a layup from Hardy and a three-pointer by Flegler following a three-pointer from Barrett as well. Longwood led 66-64 with 2:06 left after a jumper from Barrett but the Lancers would not score again as Coleman made 1-2 free throws at 1:23, and Anthony Jones hit the go-ahead basket at 0:43 (66-67) before Hardy closed the scoring with two free throws at 0:18.2 -- allowing the Tigers to escape with the road win.
Barrett finished with a game-high 23 points, matching his career-high, to lead Longwood, adding a season-high 12 rebounds along with five steals and four assists. Williams had 15 points for the Lancers, followed by Giles (11) and Bogan (8). LU shot 39% (24-62) from the field, including 30% (8-27) on three-point field goals, and 77% (10-13) at the free throw line.
Linton finished with 14 points to lead Savannah State, adding nine rebounds. Flegler had 13 points for the Tigers, followed by Hardy (10). SSU shot 49% (25-51) from the field, including 33% (5-15) on three-pointers, and 64% (14-22) at the line -- counting the lucky-break-on-the-road two charity tosses at 0:05.6 in regulation.
