February 13, 2010

BOX SCORE

DURHAM, N.C. -- Longwood University dropped an 81-78 men's basketball road decision at North Carolina Central University Saturday night in Durham, North Carolina. The host Eagles made 3-5 free throws in the final 2.4-seconds to secure their homecourt victory. The Lancers (9-17) were led by sophomore Antwan Carter/St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Petersburg) with a game-high 22 points, tying his career-high while adding a game-high 13 rebounds as well for his eighth double-double (fourth-straight) this season. NCCU (7-20) was led by Vincent Davis with 23 points off the bench. Longwood returns home to host Southern Virginia University on Wednesday night, February 17, at Willett Hall in Farmville beginning at 7 p.m..

Longwood took an early 9-6 lead at 16:53 as Carter scored inside, and the Lancers led 17-13 at 12:17 after a three-point field goal by senior Kevin Swecker/Manchester, Md. (Mount Saint Joseph). N.C. Central, however, used a 14-5 run to take a 27-22 lead at 8:46 as Davis scored eight quick points and Nick Chasten added six points, and the Eagles led 31-25 at 6:31 on a basket from Dijon Manns. LU battled back to tie it at 37-37 with 3:04 left in the first half on a three-pointer from sophomore Martiz Washington/Hopewell (Christchurch). NCCU closed the half strong, though, and led 47-42 at the intermission as Davis scored the final four points of the period to finish with 14 first-half points. Washington had 12 points at the break for the visitors.

North Carolina Central continued it momentum in the second half, taking its largest lead of the contest at 64-51 with 12:15 remaining on a three-pointer from Davis. Longwood refused to quit and fought back with a 20-6 run to take a 71-70 lead with 4:03 on the clock as redshirt-senior Dana Smith/Woodbridge, Va. (C.D. Hylton) scored inside. Smith sparked the run with seven points while junior Aaron Mitchell/Matoaca (Manatee CC) added six points. The Eagles scored four unanswered points to lead 74-71 at 2:39 as C.J. Wilkerson made two free throws and Mann scored inside. Carter scored inside and was fouled at 2:24 but missed the free throw and it was 74-73. Wilkerson made two more free throws at 2:06 for a 76-73 lead, but Swecker made a three-pointer from the right corner to tie it at 76-76 with 1:43 left. Wilkerson again made two free throws at 1:30 for a 78-76 lead, but Carter answered again inside to tie it at 78-78 (1:16). Following a Wilkerson miss on a jumper, Carter was whistled for traveling on the other end of the floor at 00:32. A great defensive effort for 30-seconds forced a deep desperation three-point attempt by Wilkerson with only 2.4-seconds on the clock that drew a foul on Smith, and Wilkerson made 2-3 for an 80-78 advantage. After a turnover on the inbound pass, Dami Sapara was fouled and he made 1-2 free throws for the final margin as the final moments were eerily similar to the ending of the Lancers' Savannah State game in Georgia back on January 23 (68-66 loss).

Carter led Longwood with his game-high 22 points, tying his career-high while adding a game-high 13 rebounds for his eighth double-double. Smith added 16 points for the Lancers, Washington had 15 points off the bench, and Mitchell finished with 12 points. LU shot a season-high 56% (31-55) from the field, including 38% (8-21) on three-pointers, and 50% (8-16) at the free throw line. The Lancers also had 22 turnovers, tying their highest total of the season while seeing their recent five-game winning streak stopped.

Davis led N.C. Central with his 23 points off the bench, while Wilkerson had 20 points, including 12-15 free throws with 8-9 over the final 3:18. Chasten and Manns each scored 15 points for the Eagles. NCCU shot 55% (30-55) from the field, it's second-best effort of the year, including 33% (3-9) on three-pointers, and 67% (18-27) at the line for a plus-10 at the charity stripe and the difference in the outcome. The Eagles won their second-straight game in the series between the two schools, though Longwood still leads overall at 4-2. The two teams will meet again in Virginia on February 25.