Box Score
RUSTON, La. -- Kenyon McNeail scored a game-high 21 points, off the bench, to lead seven players in double-figure scoring as Louisiana Tech University of Conference USA took a 126-52 men's basketball victory past Longwood University on Saturday evening at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana. The Bulldogs (12-3) led 58-28 at halftime against the visiting Lancers (5-10), and established new school records for points (126) and three-point field goals (17). Sophomore Karl Ziegler/Annandale led Longwood with a team-high 14 points, while redshirt-junior captain Jeylani Dublin/Brooklyn, New York added 13 points, off the bench. Longwood has now completed its non-conference portion of the schedule and will open Big South Conference competition at fellow North Division opponent and in-state rival VMI on Wednesday night, January 8 at 7 p.m. in Lexington.
"They were that good, and we were that bad," said first-year Longwood head coach Jayson Gee. "The best thing we can do is forget about it and move on. I tip my hat to them (LA Tech) and now our job is to get our guys ready for next week."
Longwood and Louisiana Tech were tied early at 2-2 after a basket by sophomore captain Lucas Woodhouse/Greenlawn, New York at 19:24. The Lancers trailed 9-4 at 17:56 following a layup by Ziegler, and the Lancers were trying to battle with the talented Bulldogs, while within 24-11 at 12:29, when Woodhouse made a three-point field goal. LA Tech, however, took complete control of the contest with a 22-3 run to lead 46-14 at 3:38 with McNeail closing the outburst with three consecutive three-pointers. Longwood did outscore the Bulldogs, 14-12, over the final 3:22 of the first half, but still trailed by 30 points (58-38) at halftime. Raheem Appleby scored 15 first-half points for the hosts, and McNeail had 14 points, while Ziegler and sophomore transfer Leron Fisher/Baltimore, Maryland each scored six points for the visitors.
Louisiana Tech showed no signs of letting up in the second half, opening on a 19-6 run to lead 77-34 with 15:30 remaining, behind three-pointers from Kenneth Smith and Chris Anderson, followed by old-fashioned three-point plays by Alex Hamilton and Appleby, to start the period. Only the final margin was left to determine, as the Bulldogs hit the century mark at 9:10 on a three-pointer by Smith to lead 100-46, and another three-point play inside – this time by Anderson – made it 110-48 with 7:18 on the clock. A layup from Gilbert Talbot at 3:24 made it 120-50, and LA Tech took its largest lead of 74 points, also the final score, with 41-seconds left on the fifth three-pointer of the contest by McNeail.
Ziegler led Longwood with his team-high 14 points, adding a team-high five rebounds. Dublin finished with 13 points, also adding a team-high five rebounds for the Lancers. Fisher finished with six points and five assists, while Woodhouse, senior Jeff Havenstein/Mt. Airy, Maryland and freshman Darrion Allen/Pompano Beach, Florida, off the bench, each contributed five points. Longwood shot 33% (21-63) from the field, including 18% (3-17) on three-pointers and 58% (7-12) at the free throw line. Senior captain Tristan Carey/Colonial Beach, who entered the game as Lancers' leading scorer at 18.8 points per game, played just three minutes at the start before taking a seat on the bench for the remainder of the game (while scoreless).
NcNeail led Louisiana Tech with his game-high 21 points, making 5-8 three-pointers. Appleby had 18 points, and Hamilton scored 14 points, for the Bulldogs. Hamilton also had a game-high 12 assists. Anderson, Smith, Cordarius Johnson and Jaron Johnson each contributed 13 points, the latter two each off the bench, as well, and Cordarius Johnson also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. LA Tech shot 55% (42-76) from the field, including 49% (17-35) on three-pointers and 78% (25-32) at the line – making its first 23 free throw attempts. The Bulldogs had a 21-4 advantage in second-chance points, 25-6 advantage in fast break points and a 60-22 advantage in bench points.
Longwood and LA Tech were meeting for only the second time in the sport, and the Bulldogs now lead the series, 2-0. It also marked the Lancers' first-ever game played in the state of Louisiana.
The 126 points allowed were the most since the very first year of Longwood men's basketball in 1976-77, when the program allowed 134 points to Bluefield College (L 134-93) and 130 points to Radford University (L 130-59) … the third-most all-time. The 74-point margin of defeat is the largest all-time, and the most since the 71-point loss to Radford in 1976-77. The previous Division I mark for points allowed was 114 points at VMI (L 114-82) in 2010-11, and the previous DI margin of defeat was 54 points at the University of Maryland (L 106-52) that same season.
