Longwood University dropped an 82-79 men’s basketball decision to Hampton University of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Friday evening during the consolation game of the Dr. Pepper Classic in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Lancers (4-10) missed a last-second three-point field goal attempt to tie, and were led by senior Antwan Carter|St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Petersburg) with 23 points and classmate Jeremiah Bowman|Washington, D.C. (Harcum JC) with 19 points. The in-state Pirates (5-9) had led by 12 points with under five minutes remaining while led by Darrion Pellum with a game-high 33 points.
“The last seven or eight minutes tonight was Longwood Basketball,” said ninth-year head coach Mike Gillian. “We showed a lot of resiliency, a lot of character, and a lot patience to put ourselves in position to win the game. The expectation going in, was that was a game of competitive equals and after 39 minutes of action, that proved to be the case. They ended up making one more shot than we did in the last minute, but I will take the guys on our team 10 out of 10 times in a situation like that.”
For the second-straight night, Longwood played well early and took an 8-2 lead against Hampton at 17:57 as senior Martiz Washington|Hopewell (Christchurch) made a three-pointer that followed a jumper by Carter and a three-pointer from classmate Jan van der Kooij|Tiendeveen, The Netherlands (Roelof van Echten). It was 11-5 at 16:45 on yet another three-pointer, this one from sophomore David Robinson|Chesterfield (Cosby), and the Lancers led 17-12 at 14:27 on Carter’s three-pointe. An old-fashioned three-point play from Bowman made it 24-20 at 12:04 before the Pirates used a 10-0 run to lead 30-24 at 9:02, and a pair of free throws by Pellum had HU ahead 37-32 at 6:30. Hampton led 45-37 at halftime behind 19 first-half points from Pellum, including three three-pointers.
Hampton continued with its momentum in the second half, leading 50-41 at 16:11 on a three-pointer by Jasper Williams. Longwood took advantage of a 7-2 run to close to within 52-48 at 14:30 after another conventional three-point play from Bowman. The Pirates responded with a 13-3 run of their own to lead 65-51 at 12:05 following back-to-back three-pointers by Pellum, and a jumper from Pellum at 8:09 made it 72-58. HU still led by double-digits at 78-66 after a dunk by David Bruce at 5:17 before the Lancers decided the game was not over yet. LU scored 11 unanswered points to pull within 78-77 at 1:47 on a three-pointer from Washington that followed six points by Carter and a basket from Bowman. After a missed shot by Hampton, Washington had another three-point attempt from the same spot that would have put the Lancers ahead, but the shot missed with 50-seconds on the clock. Williams made a long three-pointer at :22 to make it 81-77, and after a missed three-pointer by van der Kooij, HU made 1-2 free throws to lead 82-77 at :13. Washington scored on a driving layup with eight-seconds before a steal by Carter led to Washington missing the last-second and potential game-tying three-pointer.
Carter led Longwood with his 23 points, adding five rebounds, and two steals. Bowman added 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists for the Lancers. van der Kooij had his second career double-double of 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Washington contributed 11 points and four assists. LU shot 46% (29-63) from the field, including 35% (9-26) on three-pointers, and 71% (12-17) at the free throw line.
Pellum led Hampton with his game-high 33 points, adding seven rebounds and five assists while making five three-pointers. Williams finished with 14 points for the Pirates, and Bruce had 11 points. HU shot 48% (31-64) from the field, including 40% (10-25) on three-pointers, and 59% (10-17) at the line.
The two schools were meeting for the fourth time in the sport as Hampton leads the series at 3-1, including a most recent 95-81 home win in Hampton (3.1.10) as well.