12.5.2011

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University played two men's basketball games this past weekend, December 2-3, within 18 hours of each other.  The Lancers defeated South Carolina State University 92-81 on Dec. 2 at Willett Hall in Farmville, before falling on the road at the University of Virginia 86-53 on Dec. 3 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. After playing the first nine games of the season over the past 22 days, including five games away from home, Longwood will be idle this week for fall semester examinations before returning to action on Monday, Dec. 12, hosting in-state opponent Virginia Military Institute of the Big South Conference at Willett Hall in Farmville at 7 p.m.  It will be Military Day against VMI with admission $1 for those with a military ID.

Looking Back At South Carolina State
Longwood trailed by as many as 13 points early in the second half before rallying with a 13-0 run to take a 56-55 lead with 14:14 left, and did not trail the rest of the way for the home triumph.  The Lancers had all five starters reach double-figure scoring, led by senior Antwan Carter|St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Petersburg) with 20 points while adding nine rebounds and three assists.  Junior Tristan Carey|Colonial Beach (La Salle) finished with 19 points, tying his career-high, and a career-high and game-high 10 rebounds for his first career double-double while adding a career-high eight assists as well.  Senior Jan van der Kooij|Tiendeveen, The Netherlands (Roelof van Echten) added a season-high 15 points, classmate Martiz Washington|Hopewell (Christchurch) had a season-high 17 points, and senior Jeremiah Bowman|Washington, D.C. (Harcum JC) contributed his second career double-double with 11 points and 10 assists -- adding a career-high five steals.  Brandon Riley led the Bulldogs with his game-high 34 points, including 7-11 three-pointers.

Looking Back At Virginia
Longwood tipped at Virginia just over 16 hours after the final horn against SCSU, and while slow starting, trailed just 20-17 with 7:09 left in the first half.  The Cavaliers, however, took control with the 23-7 run over the final 6:45 of the half to lead comfortably at the intermission (43-24) while never threatened in the second half.  Antwan Carter led the Lancers with his 17 points, adding five rebounds, the only double-figure scorer for LU.  Mike Scott led Virginia with his game highs of 20 points and nine rebounds, adding four assists while near-perfect shooting on the afternoon (6-6 FG, 1-1 3FG, 7-8 FT).

Quoting Head Coach Mike Gillian
“It was great to get back home after our 10-day road trip, and even better to know we wouldn't be leaving to play again (at least not going very far) for about three weeks.  We were especially good in the second half against South Carolina State Friday night to get ahead and stay ahead for a win.  Saturday afternoon on that quick turnaround up at Virginia, we played ok for a while to stay in there but were simply out-performed by them as the game played out.

“While we certainly would like to have a few of the early season results to have turned out differently, we have played well enough to put ourselves in position to be successful and learned a lot about what it's going to take to accomplish just that as the season goes along. Next chance to prove that will be at home again against a high-scoring VMI team after the final exam week, and the semester, comes to a close.  We'll be ready to play.”

Looking At Longwood | Season Stats
Longwood is 3-6 overall, matching its second-best start to a season since beginning the Division I scheduling with 2004-05.  The Lancers finest start was 5-4 through nine games during 2008-09 when the program finished a DI-best 17-14; the 3-6 record matches those from both last season and 2006-07.  Senior center Antwan Carter (17.2 points, 8.3 rebounds), along with senior guard Jeremiah Bowman (13.7 points, 5.2 assists), continues to lead the Lancers this season.  They've been joined in the lineup by senior guard Martiz Washington (9.6 points, 19 3FGs), sophomore guard Tristan Carey (9.4 points, 5.1 rebounds), and senior forward Jan van der Kooij (5.6 points, 4.0 rebounds).  LU averages 72.2 points while shooting 43% from the field, including 33% on three-point field goals, and 62% at the line -- allowing opponents 81.9 points.

Looking At VMI
VMI of the Big South Conference is coached by Duggar Baucom who is in his seventh year with the program, compiling a record of 90-98, including 3-4 this season prior to three games this week at #14 Pittsburgh (12.6) and home against Central Penn College (12.8) and Milligan College (12.10) that followed a 114-81 road loss at Charleston Southern (12.3).  Junior forward Stan Okoye (17.1 points), senior guard Keith Gabriel (17.0 points, 15 3FGs), and senior forward Ron Burks (12.0 points) have led the Keydets, joined in the lineup by junior forward Nick Gore (8.4 points) and senior guard Rodney Glasgow (7.3 points, 3.3 assists).  VMI averages 83.7 points while shooting 44% from the field, including 29% on three-point field goals, and 68% at the line -- allowing opponents 90.9 points.  Longwood is 1-3 all-time against VMI, including a 114-82 loss last season in Lexington (12.11.10).

Veteran Southpaw Leading The Way
Antwan Carter, the fourth-year team member and left-handed post player, continues to lead Longwood with his averages of 17.2 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 57% (63-11) from the field, including 47% (7-15) on three-point field goals, and 65% (22-34) at the free throw line -- adding 16 assists, nine blocks, and seven steals.  He is the team leader in points (155), scoring average, field goals, field goal attempts, field goal percentage, rebounds (75), rebound average, offensive rebounds (27-3.0), defensive rebounds (48-5.3), blocks, and minutes (319-35.4).  Carter has nine consecutive double-figure scoring games this season, 20-straight to last season, and two double-doubles.

In The Record Book
Antwan Carter ranks seventh in career scoring at Longwood with 1,440 points, and also ranks second in career rebounds (798), fourth in field goals (599), sixth in field goal percentage (.553, 599-1083), seventh in blocks (70), and eighth in field goal attempts (1083).

On A Dime
Jeremiah Bowman has begun his senior campaign with impressive averages of 13.7 points and 5.2 assists while shooting 50% (43-86) from the field and 69% (35-51) at the free throw line, adding 17 steals. He has dished out 33 assists in his last five games (6.6), including two games of 10 or more.  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 (35), free throw attempts (51), assists (47), and steals.  He has seven double-figure scoring games and two double-doubles.

Beyond The Arc
Martiz Washington continues to add to his school record with 209 career three-point field goals, and earned 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 (558), and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.375, 209-558).  He is averaging 9.6 points, including a team-leading 19 three-pointers and four double-figure scoring games.  Washington leads the team in three-pointers and three-point attempts.

This Guy Knows How To Make A Debut
Tristan Carey led Longwood in scoring with 17 points off the bench against Navy (11.11) in his first game for the Lancers, adding seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.  He 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.  Carey did it once again with 19 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and two steals against South Carolina State (12.2) while making his first start at home for the Lancers.  He is averaging 9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds, adding eight three-pointers, 25 assists, 11 steals, and six blocks through his first nine 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 (33-35 career FTs, .943) has played in every game, averaging 14.6 minutes and 5.1 points with a career-high 13 points against Virginia Intermont (11.13).  He leads the team in free throw percentage (.875, 7-8).  Parker (35-64 career 3FGs, .547) has played in eight games, averaging 9.9 minutes and 4.6 points with a season-high 10 points at Nevada (11.22).  He leads the team in three-point percentage (.500, 10-20).  Havenstein (18-24 career FTs, .750) has played in every game as well, averaging 14.6 minutes and 2.9 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.

All-Tournament Team Honors
Antwan Carter was named to the Chicago Invitational Challenge All-Tournament Team for his four-game efforts during the exempt event played November 18-26.  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 (11.18), Nevada (11.22), Prairie View A&M (11.25), and UMKC (11.26).

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 is back on the road at Vanderbilt University of the Southeastern Conference on Monday, Dec. 19, in Nashville, Tennessee at 8 p.m. ET.