1.17.2012

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University won two of three men's basketball games on the road during the past week in three different states.  The Lancers (7-12) of ninth-year head coach Mike Gillian defeated Ivy League member Brown University 79-77 January 11 in Providence, Rhode Island and Northeast Conference member Fairleigh Dickinson University 87-83 Jan. 16 in Hackensack, New Jersey, while falling at Dartmouth College 83-67 Jan. 14 in Hanover, New Hampshire.  Longwood will play two more road games over the next week, including at Eastern Kentucky University of the Ohio Valley Conference on Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. in Richmond, Kentucky before visiting Florida Gulf Coast University of the Atlantic Sun Conference on Jan. 24 at 7:05 p.m. in Fort Myers, Florida.

Lancers Earn First Road Wins Of Season
Longwood earned its first two road wins of the season with its victories at Brown and Fairleigh Dickinson.  The Lancers trailed at Brown by as many as 13 points late in the first half, and were behind 75-68 late in the game before outscoring the Bears 11-2 over the final 3:28, including the game-winning basket by senior Jeremiah Bowman|Washington, D.C. (Harcum JC) with 2.2-seconds remaining.  LU was led by senior Antwan Carter|St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Petersburg) with his 33rd career double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Bowman finished with 19 points, including his decisive runner in the lane, adding a game-high five assists.  At Fairleigh Dickinson, Longwood closed the first half with a 16-6 run to lead 37-33 at halftime, extended it to 25-6 to start the second half, and secured the triumph with 6-8 free throws in the final minute.  The Lancers were led by Jeremiah Bowman with 22 points, Antwan Carter with 20 points, and senior Martiz Washington|Hopewell (Christchurch) with 18 points along with sophomore Tristan Carey|Colonial Beach (La Salle) with 15 points.

Quoting Head Coach Mike Gillian
“Playing on the road in college basketball is tough, no matter who you are and where you're playing.  With that being said, we are very pleased to come out of this recent three-game road trip with two wins.  We have been talking to the team a lot about the type of consistent effort it takes -- physically, mentally, and emotionally -- to compete away from home and how, if we succeed at giving that effort, the results we all desire will take care of themselves.  In all three games, we did just that, and in turn, performed at a level that put us in position to succeed which, again, we were very happy to do two out of three times.
 
“The challenges continue now.  After a short break, the opportunity to get started with second semester classes and recharge the battery, so to speak, we have two very difficult road games at the start of next week.  Both Eastern Kentucky and Florida Gulf Coast are having good years; it will take more of the same focus we had on this last trip to get the same type of results.”

Looking At Longwood | Season Statistics
Longwood is 7-12 overall, including 4-3 at home where the program is 36-12 (.750) during the past three-plus years, 2-7 on the road, and 1-2 in neutral-site games.  Antwan Carter (18.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 19-straight double-figure scoring games), along with Jeremiah Bowman (14.1 points, 5.8 assists), continue to lead the Lancers this season.  They have been joined in the lineup by Tristan Carey (11.5 points), Martiz Washington (10.2 points, 45 3FGs), and senior Jan van der Kooij|Tiendeveen, The Netherlands (Roelof van Echten) (7.0 points, 5.6 rebounds).  Sixth-man and sophomore David Robinson|Chesterfield (Cosby) (6.7 points) has seen increased playing time of late, averaging 21.6 minutes off the bench over the last nine games.  LU averages 74.5 points while shooting 43% from the field, including 35% on three-point field goals (8.6), and 67% at the line -- allowing opponents 83.6 points.

Looking At Eastern Kentucky
Eastern Kentucky is coached by Jeff Neubauer who is in his seventh year with the program, compiling a record of 112-95, including 10-9 this season following a 57-54 road loss at Morehead State (1.14) and prior to a home game against UT Martin (1.19).  Senior guard Jaron Jones (15.5 points) leads the Colonels who average 64.7 points while shooting 43% from the field, including 33% on three-point field goals (7.1), and 73% at the line -- allowing opponents 64.1 points.  The two schools are meeting for the first time in the sport.
 
Looking At Florida Gulf Coast
Florida Gulf Coast is coached by Andy Enfield who is in his first year with the program, compiling a record of 8-10 this season following a 95-53 road loss at Belmont (1.16) and prior to a road game at Stetson (1.20).  Freshman guard Bernard Thompson (12.0 points) leads the Eagles who average 69.4 points while shooting 46% from the field, including 38% on three-point field goals (7.2), and 68% at the line -- allowing opponents 71.0 points.  The two schools are meeting for the third time in the sport as the series is tied at 1-1, including wins on the respective home floors – Longwood winning in Farmville (12.5.09, 82-75) and FGCU winning in Fort Myers (3.4.04, 75-58).

Who's Hot?
Antwan Carter is averaging 20.1 points and 8.9 rebounds over the past nine games, including five-straight among seven 20-point games.  Jeremiah Bowman is averaging 17.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.0 rebounds over the past six games.  Martiz Washington is averaging 13.3 points while making 18-42 (.429) three-point field goals over the past six games.  Jan van der Kooij is averaging 7.7 points and 7.5 rebounds over the past six games.

Climbing The Record Book
Antwan Carter continues to climb the career record book at Longwood, ranking third in scoring (1,631), second in rebounds (892), third in field goals (678), fourth in field goal attempts (1244), sixth in field goal percentage (.545, 678-1244) and blocks (79), and ninth in free throw attempts (369).  Since becoming Division I eligible in 2007, he ranks first in points, rebounds, field goals, field goal attempts, and field goal percentage, while second in free throws (245) and free throw attempts, and third in blocks.  Carter is only the second player in the 36-year history of the program with at least 1,600 career points and 800 career rebounds as he joined former Division II All-American and 17-year NBA veteran Jerome Kersey '84 (1,756 points, 1,162 rebounds).  He needs to average 14.6 points over the final 12 games to surpass all-time scoring leader Kevin Jefferson '90 who scored 1,806 career points at Longwood.

On A Dime | Ironman
Jeremiah Bowman had a somewhat slow start to the season with only 14 assists through the first four games.  Over the last 15 games, he has 13 games of five or more assists, including 10-straight, with two games of 10 or more and another of nine while averaging 6.5 assists.  Bowman has played all 40 minutes five times: Canisius (11.15, L 83-87) with a career-high 27 points and five assists, Nevada (11.22, L 78-80) with his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 assists, Hampton (12.30, L 79-82) with 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists, NJIT (1.7, W 85-70) with 16 points, seven assists, and five rebounds, and Dartmouth (1.14, L 67-83) with 14 points and six assists.
 
Beyond the Arc
Martiz Washington continues to add to his school record with 235 career three-point field goals.  Last season, he had established a new season record for three-pointers (85).  Washington also ranks first in career three-point attempts (622), and seventh in three-point percentage (.378, 235-622).

Up Next
Following six of seven games on the road this month, Longwood will return home and rest for several days before hosting non-Division I Southern Virginia University February 2, tipping at 7 p.m. at Willett Hall in Farmville.