January 23, 2009

COMPLETE GAME NOTES (PDF)

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University will host fellow NCAA Division I Independent NJIT in men's basketball Saturday afternoon, January 24, at 2 p.m. in Willett Hall (1,807) on-campus in Farmville.  The Lancers and Highlanders have met each of the past two seasons with Longwood winning both games last year (78-68, 96-78), and NJIT winning both games two years ago (59-55, 78-74).  Longwood (9-10) is coached by sixth-year head coach Mike Gillian, and will be led by 6-5, 225-pound redshirt-junior guard/forward Dana Smith who is averaging 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds.  NJIT (1-18), who stopped a 51-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 61-51 win over Bryant, is coached by first-year head coach Jim Engles and is led by junior forward Gary Garris (11.4 points, 5.7 rebounds).  Tickets remain and will be available at the Willett Hall Ticket Office or by calling 434.395.2138.

Series History
Longwood and NJIT are meeting for the fifth time in the sport of men's basketball since 2007.  The series is tied at 2-2, though the Lancers won both games played last season.

    January 10, 2007: NJIT 59 – Longwood 55 / Newark, New Jersey
    February 19, 2007: NJIT 78 - Longwood 74 / Farmville, Virginia
    February 4, 2008: LONGWOOD 78 - NJIT 68 / Newark, New Jersey
    February 18, 2008: LONGWOOD 96 - NJIT 78 / Farmville, Virginia

A Look At NJIT
NJIT has a record of 1-18 after its 61-51 home win past reclassifying Bryant on Wednesday (1.21).  The victory stopped a 51-game losing streak that dated back to February 19, 2007 (see above) when the Highlanders last won here in Farmville.  NJIT is coached by first-year head coach Jim Engles (Dickinson, '90) who is now 1-18 with the program.  The Highlanders led by junior Gary Garris (11.4 points, 5.7 rebounds), sophomore Jheryl Wilson (10.7 points), and freshman Isaiah Wilkerson (12.3 points).  Also expected in the lineup are junior Dan Stonkus (2.2 points) and sophomore Justin Garris (5.8 points).

A Look At Longwood
Longwood has a record of 9-10 after its 91-82 home win past NAIA Southern Virginia on Wednesday (1.21) to equal its win-total from each of the past two seasons (9-22 / 2006-07, 2007-08).  The Lancers are led by redshirt-junior Dana Smith (15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds), senior Ryan Bogan (14.5 points), and junior Kevin Swecker (10.0 points).  Also expected in the starting lineup are junior Billy Robinson Jr. (6.2 points) and sophomore Durann Neil (7.1 points, 3.4 assists).

RPI Ratings
Longwood is rated 228 in this week's NCAA RPI for the second-straight week, its highest rating ever, among 343 schools playing Division I men's basketball; NJIT is rated 341.  The Lancers have an average rating of 248 among the following six rating services: CBS Sportsline RPI, the CollegeRPI.com, Ken Pomeroy's College Basketball RPI, RealTimeRPI.com, RPIRatings.com, and the Sagarin Ratings -- also its highest averaging rating ever at this point in the season.  Longwood has played four opponents ranked among the Top 60 in the NCAA RPI, including West Virginia (25), Florida (26), Virginia Tech (53), and Kentucky (59), while Virginia (88) remains among the top 100.  The highest rated opponent that the Lancers have defeated this season is James Madison (138).

The Friendly Confines
Longwood is 28-17 (.622) at home in Willett Hall over the past three-plus years, including 7-2 this year following a 7-5 record in Farmville during 2007-08.  The Lancers were 8-4 at the facility during 2005-06 before finishing with a record of 6-6 at home during 2006-07.  Overall, Longwood is 232-126 (.648) in the building since it opened for the 1980-81 season.  The Lancers have averaged 1,116 in overall home attendance this season through nine games, but the average is 1,260 during the seven games with students on-campus attending classes.

NCAA Statistical Rankings
Longwood ranks fifth nationally in Division I turnover margin (5.6), forcing 20.3 opponent turnovers to its 14.7 with fewer turnovers than its opponents in 18 of 19 games this season.  The Lancers also rank 11th nationally in steals (9.6), 51st in three-point field goals (7.6), 59th in assists (15.2), 66th in scoring offense (74.9), and 100th in assist turnover ratio (1.04).  Individually, Durann Neil is 62nd in Division I assist turnover ratio (2.1), Kevin Swecker is 59th in steals (2.0), Dana Smith is 85th in field goal percentage (51.4), and Ryan Bogan is 91st in steals (1.8).

For more game notes and statistical information, please download the PDF linked above ...