11.28.2011

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University participated in the 2011 Chicago Invitational Challenge November 18-26, a four-game, exempt men's basketball tournament.  The Lancers finished as runners-up in the Upper Division of the event with a 1-3 record in the four games, including a 70-67 victory past Prairie View A&M University Nov. 25 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.  LU fell 93-53 to the University of Missouri-Kansas City Nov. 26 in the championship game at the Sears Centre Arena following road losses at Brigham Young University (92-60) Nov. 18 in Provo, Utah, and at the University of Nevada (80-78) Nov. 22 in Reno.  Longwood has two games scheduled for this week, hosting South Carolina State University on Friday night, December 2, at Willett Hall in Farmville at 7 p.m., before traveling to the University of Virginia the next day on Saturday, Dec. 3, at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville at 1 p.m.  The Virginia contest will be televised on FOX Sports South available via most digital cable providers, including Shentel locally, as well as the DIRECTV® (channel 646) satellite network.

A Quick Look Back At The Chicago Invitational Challenge
Longwood opened the event with road losses at BYU of the West Coast Conference (92-60, 11.18) and Nevada of the Western Athletic Conference (80-78, 11.22), followed by the neutral-site win over Prairie View A&M of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (70-67, 11.25), along with the neutral-site loss to UMKC of The Summit League (93-53, 11.26).

At BYU, the Lancers led 10-4 early (16:41), and trailed just 35-29 at halftime before the Cougars scored 57 second-half points on 64% (21-33) shooting.  LU was led by senior Antwan Carter|St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Petersburg) with 18 points while making 8-12 shots, including 2-3 three-point field goals.

At Nevada, the Lancers fought back from a 15-point, second-half deficit to lead 64-63 with less than five minutes remaining, and had a potential game-winning three-point field goal attempt at the buzzer that would have won the game.  LU was led by sophomore transfer Tristan Carey|Colonial Beach (La Salle) with a career-high 19 points while making his first start for the Lancers.  The Wolf Pack secured the victory with 8-12 free throws over the final 3:51, but missed two with five-seconds left that allowed for the potential buzzer-beating attempt, while led by Malik Story with a game-high 28 points.

Against PVAMU, the Lancers led most of the game before falling behind 63-61 with 1:23 remaining, but responded with a game-ending 9-4 run over the final 1:08 for the win.  LU was led by Carter with a game-high 18 points and classmate Jeremiah Bowman|Washington, D.C. (Harcum JC) with 16 points.  Jourdan Demuynck led the Panthers with a game-high 18 points as well.

Against UMKC, the Lancers fell behind 11-3 during the first 3:25 of the game and never recovered while led by Carter with 18 points and Bowman with 15 points.  Reggie Chamberlain and Dustin Dibble, each with respective game-highs of 24 points, led the Kangaroos.

Quoting Head Coach Mike Gillian
“Whenever you embark on a long road trip like the one we just completed for the Chicago Invitational Challenge, especially early in the season, you know you are going to learn some things about your team.  What we learned on this trip is that we are capable of competing at a very high level for periods of time that will put us in position to be successful, and any time you don't have the collective energy necessary to sustain that level of performance you are likely to suffer from the consequences.  There is also a certain level of commitment to the team that is displayed when you travel together like we just did for 10 days.  As players on every team experience all of these things together, they further understand how they can positively affect each other and the team as the season moves forward.

“Our season moves forward with two games this weekend.  First, it's always great to return home, and we have South Carolina State coming in here Friday night.  Then, on a quick turnaround, we play Saturday afternoon up in Charlottesville against Virginia.  Both games present their own challenges, and we'll spend the week working our preparation for both into practice.”

A Look At Longwood | Season Stats
Longwood is 2-5 overall as senior center Antwan Carter (16.9 points, 8.7 rebounds) along with senior guard Jeremiah Bowman (15.1 points, 4.9 assists) have led the Lancers this season, joined in the lineup by senior guard Martiz Washington|Hopewell (Christchurch) (9.1 points, 14 3FGs), sophomore guard Tristan Carey (8.6 points, 5.0 rebounds), and senior forward Jan van der Kooij|Tiendeveen, The Netherlands (Roelof van Echten) (4.0 points, 4.1 rebounds).  LU averages 72.1 points while shooting 43% from the field, including 34% on three-point field goals, and 59% at the line -- allowing opponents 81.4 points.

A Look At South Carolina State
SCSU of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is coached by Tim Carter who is in his fifth year with the program, compiling a record of 62-72, including 4-2 this season prior to a game against Georgia State (11.29) that followed a 104-98 double-overtime road win at Kennesaw State (11.26).  Senior guard Brandon Riley (20.3 points, 7 3FGs), senior forward Omar Sanders (17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds), and junior guard Khalif Toombs (12.0 points, 3.0 assists) have led the Bulldogs, joined in the lineup by senior forward/center Presano Bell (9.2 points, 6.7 rebounds) and junior guard/forward Aaron Martin (8.7 points).  SCSU averages 67.3 points while shooting 41% from the field, including 30% on three-point field goals, and 65% at the line -- allowing opponents 69.0 points.  Longwood is 1-2 all-time against SCSU, including a 90-73 win last season in Las Vegas (12.23.10).

Live Chat | In-Game vs. South Carolina State

Holiday Spirit Night
The Farmville Jaycees and Longwood Athletics will host a Holiday Spirit Night on Friday, Dec. 2, at Willett Hall.  Holiday Spirit Night will provide a means of collecting toys for a local non-profit organization that assists children less fortunate during this Holiday season.  Admission will be $1 for anyone who brings a new, unwrapped toy.

A Look At Virginia
Virginia of the Atlantic Coast Conference is coached by Tony Bennett who is in his third year with the program, compiling a record of 36-32, including 5-1 this season prior to a game against Michigan (11.29) that followed a 68-42 home win past Green Bay (11.25).  Senior forward Mike Scott (14.8 points, 10.0 rebounds) and sophomore guard Joe Harris (11.7 points, 9 3FGs) have led the Cavaliers, joined in the lineup by senior center Assane Sene (6.8 points, six blocks), junior guard Jontel Evans (6.0 points, 2.5 assists), and senior guard Sammy Zeglinski (5.0 points).  UVA averages 62.7 points while shooting 46% from the field, including 33% on three-point field goals, and 79% at the line -- allowing opponents only 45.3 points. Longwood is 0-5 all-time against Virginia, including an 85-72 loss in its most recent meeting in Charlottesville to open 2009-10 (11.13.09) -- also Tony Bennett's first game as the Cavaliers head coach.

All-Tournament Team Honors
Antwan Carter was named to the Chicago Invitational Challenge All-Tournament Team for his four-game efforts during the event.  Carter averaged 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 56% (29-52) from the field with two three-pointers, and 71 % (5-7) at the free throw line along with seven assists, five blocks, and two steals against BYU, Nevada, Prairie View A&M, and UMKC.  The fourth-year team member and left-handed post player is averaging 16.9 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 57% (48-84) from the field and 62% (18-29) at the free throw line, adding 12 assists, eight blocks, and five steals.  He is the team leader in points (118), scoring average, field goals, field goal attempts, field goal percentage, rebounds (61), rebound average, offensive rebounds (24-3.4), defensive rebounds (37-5.3), blocks, and minutes (247-35.3).  Carter has seven double-figure scoring games and two double-doubles.

In The Record Book
Antwan Carter now ranks seventh in career scoring at Longwood with 1,403 points, and also ranks second in career rebounds (784), fifth in field goals (584), sixth in field goal percentage (.553, 584-1056), seventh in blocks (69), and eighth in field goal attempts (1056).

Off To An Impressive Start
Jeremiah Bowman has begun his senior campaign with impressive averages of 15.1 points and 4.9 assists while shooting 51% (38-75) from the field and 67% (28-42) at the free throw line, adding 10 steals.  Twice this season, he has played all 40 minutes, including against Canisius (11.15) while posting a career-high 27 points (11-15 FG, 1-2 3FG, 4-6 FT), and at Nevada (11.22) while posting his first Longwood double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 assists. Bowman is the team leader in free throws (28), free throw attempts (42), assists (34), and steals (10).  He has six double-figure scoring games and one double-double.

Beyond The Arc
Martiz Washington holds the school record with 204 career three-point field goals, earning this record distinction with his four three-pointers against Canisius (11.15).  He had established a new season record for three-point field goals (85) during 2010-11.  Washington also ranks second all-time in career three-point field goal attempts (543), and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.376, 204-543).  He is averaging 9.1 points, including a team-leading 14 three-pointers and three double-figure scoring games.

How about That Debut X2
Tristan Carey led Longwood in scoring with 17 points off the bench against Navy (11.11) in his first game for the Lancers after sitting out last season per NCAA transfer rules.  He added seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks against the Midshipmen.  Carey followed that with 19 points, six rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and one assist at Nevada (11.22) while making his first start for Longwood.  He is averaging 8.6 points and 5.0 rebounds, adding seven three-pointers, 16 assists, eight steals, and six blocks through his first seven games with the program.

Sophomores Now & Getting Better
Sophomores and second-year team members David Robinson|Chesterfield (Cosby), Mark Parker|Clayton, N.C. (West Johnston), and Jeff Havenstein|Mt. Airy, Md. (Linganore) each saw plenty of action a year ago as true freshmen; they're seeing even more time this season.  Robinson (31-33 career FTs, .939) has played in every game, averaging 15.3 minutes and 5.6 points with a career-high 13 points against Virginia Intermont (11.13).  Parker (34-60 career 3FGs, .567) has played in six games, averaging 9.3 minutes and 5.7 points with a season-high 10 points at Nevada (11.22).  Havenstein (18-23 career FTs, .783) has played in every game as well, averaging 13.9 minutes and 3.1 rebounds with a career-high eight rebounds against UMKC (11.26).  He has a sister (Holly, 21) who plays basketball at Colgate, and a twin brother (Robby, 19) who plays football at Wisconsin.

Longwood Signs Three During Early Period
Longwood signed three individuals to its 2012 recruiting class during the recent National Letter of Intent early signing period, November 9-16. Those who will join the Lancers for 2012-13 include Frank Holloway of Alexandria, Virginia via Garrett College in Maryland; Kirk Staine of Baldwin, New York via Baldwin High School; and Lucas Woodhouse of Greenlawn, New York via Harborfields High School. Holloway and Staine are both 6-6 forwards, while Woodhouse is a 6-1 point guard.

Up Next
Longwood will be idle for fall semester examinations before returning to action on Monday, Dec. 12, hosting in-state school Virginia Military Institute of the Big South Conference at Willett Hall in Farmville at 7 p.m.