Longwood University jumped out to a 13-2 lead during the first two minutes and led the entire way en route to a 110-89 men’s basketball victory past visiting in-state school Virginia Military Institute of the Big South Conference Monday night at Willett Hall in Farmville.
The Lancers (4-6) posted a season-high for points and led by as many as 25 points as the lead was only less than 20 points one time over the final 15 minutes with all five starters among six players scoring in double figures while led by junior transfer Tristan Carey|Colonial Beach (La Salle) with a game-high and career-high 30 points. Senior Martiz Washington|Hopewell (Christchurch) added a season-high 20 points, classmate Jeremiah Bowman|Washington, D.C. (Harcum JC) added 19 points, and a school team-record was set with 20 three-point field goals. The Keydets (5-6) were led by Jordan Weethee with 19 points off the bench.
“You certainly feel good after a performance like we had tonight,” said ninth-year head coach Mike Gillian. “On offense, we got the shots we expected to get, and made a lot of them. Defending VMI is very unique because of their style of play. We had four full days to prepare for them and, for the most part, were excellent at defending their dribble penetration while staying on the outside against three point shooting. When all is said and done, that’s a really good win for us.”
Longwood started fast with its early 11-point lead at 13-2 just two minutes into the game as Carey (7, 1-3FG) and Washington (6, 2-3FGs) combined for three quick three-pointers. VMI answered with seven-straight points to pull within 13-9 at 16:50 but that would be as close as they would be the rest of the night. The Lancers promptly extended their lead to 33-16 at 10:50 with five players contributing to the 20-7 run, including Carey and sophomore David Robinson|Chesterfield (Cosby) with five points each. It was 33-22 at 10:00 after two three-pointers by the Keydets, but LU again answered and stretched the advantage to 49-31 at 5:48 on another three-pointer by Carey, and Carey’s sixth three-pointer of the opening half made it 58-38 at 1:06. The hosts led 58-41 at halftime behind 26 first-half points from Carey, and Washington added 12 points at the intermission.
Longwood took its largest lead of the game at 68-43 with 18:04 remaining on a jumper by senior Jan van der Kooij|Tiendeveen, The Netherlands (Roelof van Echten), and only the final margin was left to be decided. The Lancers maintained their comfortable margin of at least 20 points for 17:42 of the final 18:47 of the contest. It was 74-50 at 15:14 on a three-pointer by van der Kooij, 84-60 at 12:01 on a layup from Bowman, 95-70 at 7:27 on a three-pointer from sophomore Mark Parker|Clayton, N.C. (West Johnston), and 107-84 at 2:30 on a layup by Carey. Junior Stephen Shockley|Leesburg (Heritage) closed the scoring with the 20th three-pointer with 35-seconds left.
Carey led Longwood with his 30 points, including a career-high six three-pointers, adding seven rebounds and six assists. Washington finished with 20 points, tying his career-high with six three-pointers for the Lancers. Bowman added 19 points and nine assists, van der Kooij had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double, Robinson had 11 points off the bench, and senior Antwan Carter|St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Petersburg) contributed 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for his third double-double this season. LU shot 53% (43-81) from the field, including 50% (20-40) on three-pointers, and 57% (4-7) at the free throw line. The Lancers had season highs in points (110), field goals (43), field goal attempts (81), field goal percentage (53.1), three-pointers (20, school-record), three-point percentage (50.0), and rebounds (45).
Weethee led VMI with his 19 points. Keith Gabriel added 15 points, Quinton Upshur had 11 points off the bench, and Ron Burks added 10 points for the Keydets. VMI shot 46% (31-68) from the field, including 36% (11-31) on three-pointers, and 84% (16-19) at the line. Longwood is now 2-3 all-time against VMI while avenging a 114-82 road loss in Lexington last season (12.11.10).
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