Game Notes |
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Online Team Guide
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University will play on the road at BIG EAST Conference member Georgetown University in men's basketball on Monday night, December 10, at 7 p.m. at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The contest to be played in our nation's capital will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools in the sport. The Lancers (2-6) are led by 6-4 junior captain
Tristan Carey|Colonial Beach (15.0 points, 20 3FGs) and 6-9 freshman
Michael Kessens|Nyon, Switzerland (13.0 points, 11.4 rebounds). The Hoyas (7-1), ranked 21st in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, are coached by John Thompson III and led by sophomores Otto Porter Jr. (11.7 points, 7.3 rebounds) and Greg Whittington (11.5 points, 8.0 rebounds). The game can be heard locally on WVHL Radio, Kickin' Country 92.9 FM or via the Internet at
wvhl.net, and the contest will also be televised on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) as well as
ESPN3.
Series History
Longwood and Georgetown are meeting for the first time in the sport. The Lancers have played five (0-5) other members of the BIG EAST Conference previously, including Cincinnati (12.30.04, L 95-69), Marquette (12.4.10, L 96-65), Providence (1.2.07, L 107-69), Seton Hall twice (12.13.10, L 78-51; 12.23.11, L 87-61) and Villanova (12.10.05, L 90-77). Seton Hall visited Farmville last December, by far the highest-profile school to play at Longwood in the 37-year history of the program.
Looking At Longwood
Longwood is 2-6 overall, 0-0 in the Big South following a 61-53 home setback to Dartmouth College on Dec. 1. The Lancers, idle for semester exams last week, are led by junior
Tristan Carey (15.0 points, 20 3FGs), along with freshmen
Michael Kessens (13.0 points, 11.4 rebounds) and
Nik Brown (10.4 points, 4.3 assists). Junior
David Robinson (9.4 points) and redshirt-sophomore
Jeylani Dublin (8.1 points, 6.4 rebounds) have also been in the lineup this season. Longwood is shooting 42% (203-482) from the field, including 29% (39-137) on three-point field goals, and 65% (93-144) at the free throw line.
Last Time Out
Longwood dropped a 61-53 decision to Dartmouth at Willett Hall in Farmville. The Lancers led 23-19 at halftime before getting outscored 42-30 in the second half.
David Robinson led Longwood with his career-high and game-high 21 points, making 10-15 field goals, including one three-pointer.
Tristan Carey and sophomore
Frank Holloway each had seven points for the Lancers.
Michael Kessens, who entered the game with a double-double average of 14.1 points and 11.7 rebounds, was limited to five points and nine rebounds. LU shot 41% (23-56) from the field, including 25% (3-12) on three-pointers, and 57% (4-7) at the free throw line. Dartmouth shot 41% (22-54) from the field, including 54% (15-28) in the second half, 43% (6-14) on three-pointers, and 55% (11-20) at the line.
Looking At Georgetown
Georgetown is 7-1 overall, 0-0 in the BIG EAST following a 46-40 home win against Towson on Dec. 8. The Hoyas are led by sophomores Otto Porter Jr. (11.7 points, 7.3 rebounds) and Greg Whittington (11.5 points, 8.0 rebounds) along with junior Markel Starks (11.1 points). Sophomore Mikael Hopkins (9.4 points) and junior Nate Lubick (8.3 points) have also been in the lineup this season. GU is shooting 45% (186-413) from the field, including 30% (36-119) on three-pointers, and 64% (90-140) at the line.
Playing Nationally-Ranked Opponents
Longwood has played seven (0-7) nationally-ranked teams since its first full Division I schedule in 2004-05. They include games at No. 1 Illinois (L 105-79, 2004-05), No. 6 Wake Forest (L 88-47, 2004-05), No. 17 Cincinnati (L 95-69, 2004-05) in Las Vegas at Valley High School, No. 4 Villanova (L 90-77, 2005-06) in Atlantic City at Boardwalk Hall, No. 8 Indiana (L 100-49, 2007-08), No. 7 Kansas (L 113-75, 2010-11) and No. 12 Creighton (L 105-57, 2012-13). The Lancers have also competed against such historic and storied programs as Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Marquette, Providence, San Francisco, Vanderbilt and Virginia; and other nationally prominent programs as Boston College, Brigham Young, Colorado, Florida, George Washington, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, Navy, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, Seton Hall, Southern California, Valparaiso, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
Impressive Freshman
Michael Kessens (13.0 points, 11.4 rebounds, 58% FG, 77% FT) has been impressive through his first eight college games, including five double-doubles: 17 points, 15 rebounds against Norfolk State on Nov. 15; 17 points, 11 rebounds at Arkansas on Nov. 18; 14 points, 16 rebounds against FAMU on Nov. 23; a career-high 20 points, 14 rebounds against Cornell on Nov. 24; and 18 points, a career-high 17 rebounds against Central Penn on Nov. 28. He had 11 points and five rebounds at Marshall on Nov. 9 in his college debut. Kessens was named The Crons Brand/Big South Freshman of the Week on Nov. 19 for his two-game effort against Norfolk State and Arkansas (17.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 12-16 FGs, 10-11 FTs, six blocks, four steals, one assist).
Looking For Consistency
Tristan Carey (15.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 20 3FGs) played his finest two games of the young season on Nov. 23-24 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. After averaging 13.4 points (55 3FGs), 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season, he was averaging 11.8 points and 4.0 rebounds through four games this season while shooting 36% (20-56) from the field, including 19% (5-26) on three-point field goals. That changed in Las Vegas as Carey averaged 24.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 58% (18-31) from the field, including 67% (12-18) on three-pointers. He was named to the 2012 Continental Tire/Las Vegas Invitational All-Tournament Team for his efforts (see elsewhere). In the two games since, however, Carey has averaged 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 36% (10-28) from the field, including 23% (3-13) on three-pointers.
Turning The Corner?
David Robinson (9.4 points, 9 3FGs) played his finest two games of the young season most recently on Nov. 28 and Dec. 1. After averaging 6.2 points (5 3FGs) through the first six games this season while shooting 30% (13-44) from the field, including 22% (5-23) on three-point field goals, he averaged 19.0 points while shooting 62% (16-26) from the field, including 40% (4-10) on three-pointers in home games against Central Penn (17 points) and Dartmouth (career-high 21 points).
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