January 5, 2010

BOX SCORE

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Longwood University dropped an 88-58 men's basketball road decision at the University of South Carolina of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Tuesday night at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. The Lancers (3-13) were led by sophomore Antwan Carter/St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Petersburg) with 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench. The Gamecocks (9-5) were led by Devan Downey with a game-high 18 points and six assists. Longwood will play again this Saturday, January 9, continuing on the road at fellow Independent school CSU Bakersfield in Bakersfield, California beginning at 10 p.m. ET. 

Longwood scored the first basket of the game as redshirt-senior Dana Smith/Woodbridge (C.D. Hylton) scored on a layup at 19:36 before South Carolina ran off 10 unanswered points to lead 10-2 at 15:01 as four different players scored. The Lancers battled back to within 15-12 at 11:16 as Carter tallied six quick points. The Gamecocks, however, took control of the contest with a 14-2 run to lead 29-14 at 7:33 as the hosts made a trio of three-point field goals, including one by Downey. USC outscored LU 18-10 the rest of the period to lead 47-24 at the intermission behind 17 first-half points from Downey, and 5-8 three-pointers as a team, including 3-4 by Evaldas Baniulis. 

Longwood was still within 59-36 with 12:48 remaining after a basket inside from Carter before South Carolina extended its margin to as many as 36 points at 76-40 with 6:48 on the clock. The Lancers were able to reduce the margin to under 30 points just once down the stretch at 81-52 with 3:41 left on a three-pointer from Smith. 

Carter led Longwood with his 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Smith added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Lancers, and junior Aaron Mitchell/Matoaca (Manatee CC) finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. LU shot 36% (24-67) from the field, including 23% (5-22) on three-pointers, and 83% (5-6) at the free throw line. Longwood did out-rebound the hosts 40-37, including 20 offensive rebounds for 17 second chance points. 

Downey led South Carolina with his game-high 18 points and six assists. Baniulis had 15 points (5-8 3FG) off the bench for the Gamecocks, and Ramon Galloway added 12 points. USC shot 50% (33-66) from the field, including 39% (9-23) on three-pointers, and 62% (13-21) at the line. It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools in the sport of men's basketball in front of an announced crowd of 8,652.