February 21, 2010

JAMES MADISON GAME NOTES (PDF)

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University will play at James Madison University of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in men's basketball Monday night, February 22, at 7 p.m. in Harrisonburg.  The Lancers and Dukes have met four times previously with each program winning two games each on their respective home floors.  Longwood (11-17) is coached by seventh-year head coach Mike Gillian, and will be led by 6-5, 230-pound redshirt-senior guard/forward Dana Smith who is averaging 17.7 points and 7.1 rebounds.  James Madison (11-17) is coached by second-year head coach Matt Brady and is led by 6-10, 255-pound junior Texas A&M transfer forward Denzel Bowles (20.9 points, 9.2 rebounds).  The game can be heard locally on WVHL Radio, Kickin' Country 92.9, as well as the Internet via TEAMLINE also linked at www.longwoodlancers.com.

Series History
Longwood and James Madison have played four times since February 21, 2005 with each program winning two games on their respective home floors.  The Lancers won 79-76 last season in Farmville (12.3.08), and 77-73 at home during 2005-06 (2.18.06).  The Dukes won 72-70 during 2004-05 in Harrisonburg (2.21.05), and 84-52 at home during 2007-08 (12.5.07).  Dana Smith led the Lancers with 16 points and 11 rebounds last year, while Kevin Swecker added 11 points.  Pierre Curtis scored 16 points for James Madison, followed by Julius Wells with 13 points.  Unfortunately, Smith suffered the most recent of his three knee injuries at JMU during the 2007-08 contest, going down at 15:05 of the second half after scoring four points.

A Look James Madison
James Madison, members of the CAA, is coached by second-year head coach Matt Brady.  The Dukes have a record of 11-17 (4-12 CAA) after their 70-66 road loss at Canisius on Saturday (2.20).  JMU is led by junior Texas A&M transfer Denzel Bowles (20.9 points, 9.2 rebounds) and sophomore Julius Wells (16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds), while also expected in the lineup are senior Pierre Curtis (7.6 points), junior Ben Louis (4.9 points), and freshman Trevon Flores (3.6 points).  Wells led the way in Buffalo, New York with 18 points while freshman Darren White added 14 points off the bench and Bowles had 11 points and nine rebounds.  JMU averages 65.9 points including its season-high of 85 points against Fordham (12.23).

A Look At Longwood
Longwood is 11-17 after its 68-54 home win past Savannah State on Saturday (2.20).   The Lancers are led by redshirt-senior Dana Smith who has averaged 17.7 points and 7.1 rebounds, along with sophomore Antwan Carter who is averaging 14.8 points and 8.4 rebounds.  Also in the lineup are seniors #E.J. Dawson# (3.6 points, 3.4 assists) and Kevin Swecker (8.4 points, 52 3FG), with junior Aaron Mitchell (9.1 points, 3.3 assists). Smith led the way against SSU with 15 points, adding five assists.  Carter and Swecker each had 14 points, Carter grabbing eight rebounds as well and Swecker making 4-6 three-point field goals, and Mitchell added 11 points, six rebounds, and six assists.  LU averages 73.1 points with a season-high of 112 points against Washington Adventist (1.30).

Against the Commonwealth
Longwood has played 12 of the other 13 Division I schools located within the Commonwealth of Virginia since 2004-05.  They include Hampton (1-1), James Madison (2-2), Liberty (3-3), Norfolk State (2-1), Old Dominion (0-2), Radford (0-1), Richmond (0-3), Virginia (0-5), Virginia Tech (0-2), VCU (0-3), VMI (0-2), along with William and Mary (0-3).  The Lancers are 27-46 all-time against these schools, including 8-28 since 2004-05.  This year's schedule includes games against Hampton, James Madison, Old Dominion, Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Tech, along with William and Mary.  The only other Virginia school that has not been on the regular season schedule is George Mason, however, Longwood has scrimmaged against the Patriots on two occasions, including just prior to the start of the 2005-06 campaign when George Mason made its remarkable run to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

The Unkind Road
Longwood has traveled to 28 different states and Washington, D.C. while playing 109 games away from Farmville during the last five-plus years of Division I scheduling, including 93 true road games (10-83).  The Lancers' favorite state to visit since 2004-05 is North Carolina for 10 games (1-9) against the likes of Appalachian State (1), Campbell, (2), High Point (3), North Carolina A&T (1), North Carolina Central (2), and Wake Forest (1).  The 16 neutral-site games (4-12) have been played in eight different cities, including Atlantic City (0-1), Charleston, S.C. (1-0), Chicago (0-2), Las Vegas (3-3), Lincoln, Neb. (0-2), New York City (0-1), San Francisco (0-1), and South Padre Island, Texas (0-2).

Mileage To Date: 14,734
Longwood has traveled approximately 14,734 miles to date this season for games away from Farmville.  This includes 7,118 miles on charter buses, and 7,616 miles on airplanes.  For perspective, it is approximately 2,675 miles from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, California, thus, the Lancers have already traveled the equivalent of 5.51 trips across the United States from East Coast to West Coast this season.  Unfortunately, Longwood still has one road trip remaining, and when all is said and done, the Lancers will have traveled approximately 15,016 miles during 2009-10.  Even more unfortunate, such travel and mileage is nothing new to the Division I Independent program as the 2004-05 team traveled approximately 21,222 miles that season.