January 31, 2009

BOX SCORE

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University took a 106-46 men's basketball home victory past visiting NCAA Division II Columbia Union College Saturday night at Willett Hall in Farmville.  Junior Billy Robinson Jr./Columbia, Md. (Hammond) scored a season-high 17 points to lead six players in double-figure scoring, and redshirt-junior Dana Smith/Woodbridge (C.D. Hylton) grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds.  The Lancers improved to 11-10 with their fourth-straight win; the most wins for the program since 2002-03 while competing at Division II before the transition to Division I.  The Pioneers dropped to 1-18 with their 18th consecutive loss and were led by Shaheem McNair and Dana Clark with 11 points each.  Longwood will play again on Wednesday, February 4, hosting the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore in Farmville at 7 p.m..  It will be Greek Night at Willett Hall, while Longwood Athletics is also offering free admission to all Faculty and Staff as well as free admission to all youth ages 13 and under.
   
Longwood jumped out to a 25-8 lead at 11:40 of the first half behind seven points from junior Kevin Swecker/Manchester, Md. (Mount Saint Joseph) and six points each from Smith and senior Ryan Bogan/Oxford, Pa. (Harcum JC).  Columbia Union closed to within 25-17 with 8:02 left in the period on a layup by Clark that capped a 9-0 run.  The Lancers, however, took complete control of the contest with an 18-0 run to lead 43-17 at 0:30 as seven different players scored points for the hosts.  Swecker closed-out the opening 20 minutes with a three-point field goal at the buzzer for a 46-22 lead at the intermission in the first-ever meeting between the two schools in men's basketball.
   
Longwood scored the first 11 points of the second half while ending a 32-5 run over the two periods to lead 57-22 with 16:07 remaining.  Robinson scored seven of the points, including a dunk and his first three-pointer of the season.  The Lancers extended the margin to 69-27 at 12:46 on a jumper from Bogan, and it was 90-43 at 5:24 after a dunk by sophomore Brandon Evans/Roanoke (Roanoke Catholic) that provided the crowd with free hamburgers from Mulligan's Sports Grille in Farmville (when the Lancers score 90 points and win).  Freshman Jan van der Kooij/Tiendeveen, The Netherlands (Roelof van Echten) came off the bench and knocked-down two three-pointers, and sophomore Jeffrey Ryan/Beacon, N.Y. (Newburgh Free Academy) finished it off with his first collegiate dunk in the final minute; LU had seven dunks on the night.
   
Robinson led Longwood with his season-high 17 points, adding eight rebounds, while Swecker finished with 14 points and three steals.  Bogan and Ryan each scored 13 points, a career-high for Ryan who also had seven rebounds and a career-high three assists for the Lancers.  Freshman Martiz Washington/Hopewell (Christchurch) had 12 points, including a career-high 4-5 on three-pointers, and Evans added career-highs of 10 points, seven rebounds, and two steals along with three blocks.  Smith contributed career-highs of 14 rebounds and six assists, adding eight points.  LU shot 55% (39-71) from the field, 68% (21-31) in the second half, including 48% (13-27) on three-pointers, and 71% (15-21) at the line.  The Lancers had a 51-31 rebounding advantage, forced 20 turnovers converted to 26 points, and had season-highs of 28 assists and 13 three-pointers.
   
McNair and Clark each led Columbia Union with 11 points, while Jamar Sampson had 10 rebounds for the Pioneers.  CUC shot 30% (19-63) from the field, including 21% (3-14) on three-pointers, and 50% (5-10) at the line.

It was Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend, a collaborative initiative of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the American Cancer Society.  The Longwood coaching staff wore sneakers instead of dress shoes with their usual game attire against Columbia Union to demonstrate their support for the American Cancer Society and the fight against cancer.