1.22.2011
BOX SCORE
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Longwood University dropped a 70-52 men's basketball decision on the road Saturday night at in-state opponent Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg. The visiting Lancers (7-15) trailed 29-19 at halftime, and were within 38-33 with 12:38 remaining while led by senior
Aaron Mitchell|Matoaca (Manatee CC) and junior
Antwan Carter|St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Petersburg) with 14 points each. The host Hokies (13-5) were led by Malcolm Delaney with a game-high 23 points, including 10-12 free throws, adding five rebounds and four assists. Longwood will return home to host Campbell University of the Atlantic Sun Conference on Tuesday night, January 25, at Willett Hall in Farmville beginning at 7 p.m. It will be Longwood Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night for the game against the Fighting Camels.
Longwood scored the first basket of the game on a layup by Mitchell at 19:05 before Virginia Tech answered with four points to lead 4-2 at 17:13 after a pair of free throws from Delaney. The Lancers responded with a 9-2 run to take an 11-6 advantage at 14:15 after a layup by junior
Jeremiah Bowman|Washington, D.C. (Harcum JC). LU led 15-10 at 10:45 following another layup from Mitchell, but a layup by Delaney capped a quick 7-0 run to put the Hokies ahead 17-15 at 7:55. Freshman
David Robinson|Chesterfield (Cosby) made a three-point field goal at 6:46 for an 18-17 lead, but VT took control with a 12-0 run fueled by seven points from Delaney to lead 29-18 at 1:17 en route to the 29-19 halftime advantage.
Longwood began the second half with a three-pointer by redshirt-junior
Durann Neil|Pleasantville, N.J. (Leap Academy) to pull within 29-22 at 19:29. Virginia Tech increased its lead to 38-28 at 15:29 on a layup from Jeff Allen, but the Lancers battled back with five-straight points, including a fastbreak slam dunk by Carter to close to within 38-33 at 12:38. LU was still within 47-38 with 9:16 left on yet another layup from Mitchell, and two free throws by Mitchell made it 51-40 with 7:39 remaining. The Hokies finally got free with nine-straight points from four different players, capped by two more free throws from Delaney at 5:25 to lead 60-40, and VT extended the run to 16-2 to take its largest lead at 67-42 with 4:04 on the clock as Delaney added his only three-pointer of the night. Longwood was able to outscore the hosts 10-3 over the final 3:31 to provide for the final margin.
Mitchell and Carter each scored 14 points to lead Longwood, with Carter adding five rebounds and Mitchell adding three assists. Neil finished with seven points and two steals for the Lancers. Bowman added six points and seven rebounds. LU shot 37.0% (17-46) from the field, including 25.0% (4-16) on three-pointers, and 63.6% (14-22) at the free throw line.
Delaney scored his game-high 23 points to lead Virginia Tech, adding the five rebounds and four assists. Erick Green added 14 points and five assists, and Allen finished with six points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Hokies. VT shot 44.6% (25-56) from the field, including 26.3% (5-19) on three-pointers, and 88.2% (15-17) at the line.
It was the third meeting between the two schools in three seasons in the sport of men's basketball. The Hokies lead the series at 3-0, including an 85-50 win last year (12.30.09) and a 79-57 win two years ago (12.14.08).
