March 4, 2009

BOX SCORE

NEWARK, N.J. – Longwood University took a 77-70 men's basketball road victory at NJIT Wednesday night in Newark, New Jersey. The Lancers completed their 2008-09 campaign with a final record of 17-14 and were led by freshman Antwan Carter/St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Petersburg) with a game-high and career-high 22 points off the bench, adding nine rebounds, while redshirt-junior Dana Smith/Woodbridge (C.D. Hylton) added 18 points and a game-high four steals for the visitors. The host Highlanders finished at 1-30 and were led by Jheryl Wilson and Justin Garris with 16 points each. Longwood finished with its most wins as a Division I program, and highest overall since 2000-01 (23). The Lancers will return 11 lettermen as only senior Ryan Bogan/Oxford, Pa. (Harcum JC) is leaving the program.

Longwood fell behind 6-0 at the start of the contest and trailed 8-2 at 16:42 as Wilson scored four quick points. It was still a six-point advantage for NJIT at 12-6 when Garris made a layup at 14:17. The Lancers, however, put together a 9-2 run sparked by five points from Smith to lead 15-14 at 11:59 as Bogan capped the spurt with a driving layup. The Highlanders, though, responded with a 13-4 run to take its largest lead at 27-19 with 6:24 left in the period. The hosts still led 33-27 at 2:45 before the visitors closed the half with a 12-2 run to take a 39-35 lead at the intermission. Bogan provided back-to-back three-point field goals during the spree while Carter added four points and Smith made a pair of free throws.

Longwood maintained its advantage early in the second half, leading 51-46 at 15:08 after a three-pointer from junior Kevin Swecker/Manchester, Md. (Mount Saint Joseph). NJIT battled back again and took a 54-53 lead at 12:29 on a layup from Wilson. Carter had the answer this time for the Lancers, scoring eight-straight points to give LU a 61-54 lead at 9:48. Smith's jumper made it 63-58 at 8:15 before the Highlanders used a 10-1 run to lead 68-64 with just 3:49 remaining. Longwood refused to lose, however, and ran off nine unanswered points to take a 73-68 lead at 1:15 as Carter (4) Smith (2), and Swecker (2) combined for eight of the points. The Lancers secured the hard-fought road triumph with 4-6 free throws over the final 31-seconds.

Carter finished with his game-high and career-high 22 points (9-14 FG, 4-6 FT) off the bench to lead Longwood, adding nine rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Smith had 18 points and a game-high four steals for the Lancers. Bogan added 13 points and five assists, while Swecker contributed 12 points, four assists, and three steals. Sophomore Durann Neil/Pleasantville, N.J. (Leap Academy) dished out a game-high six assists. LU shot 44% (27-62) from the field, including 33% (7-21) on three-point field goals, and 73% (16-22) at the free throw line. Longwood forced 24 turnovers that were converted into 25 points while making 15 steals.

Wilson and Justin Garris each finished with 16 points to lead NJIT. Gary Garris had 14 points, and Isaiah Wilkerson added 10 points for the Highlanders. Paulius Skema grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the hosts. NJIT shot 45% (23-51) from the field, including 25% (2-8) on three-pointers, and 79% (22-28) at the line.

Longwood swept both games against NJIT this season after winning 63-51 in Farmville on January 24. It was also the Lancers' fourth-straight win against the Highlanders as Longwood now leads the overall series at 4-2 since first playing in 2007. The 17 wins are the most for the program since beginning the Division I scheduling in 2004-05, and represent a +8 turnaround season from a year ago (9-22) which should rank among the best in DI this year.