The Longwood Lancers men's basketball schedule for 2011-12 was released last Wednesday, Sept. 14. Ninth-year head coach Mike Gillian has 31 games scheduled for his players. The first game is on Nov. 11 at home against Navy at 7 p.m. The 2011-12 slate includes a home game against Big East school Seton Hall (Dec. 23) and away games at ACC school Virginia (Dec. 3), SEC school Vanderbilt (Dec. 19) and West Coast Conference school Gonzaga (Feb. 27). Longwood will also play in the Chicago Invitational Challenge Nov. 18-26 with games against Brigham Young University (BYU) and Nevada. The games against BYU and Nevada will be played in Utah and Nevada, respectively.
"When you look at our schedule, you'll see that it is as challenging as ever," said Gillian on longwoodlancers.com. "The goals we have in putting a schedule together haven't changed, and this year's slate continues to support that. There are certainly games that will jump off the page to anyone who follows college basketball."
Longwood and Navy will be duking it out for the eighth time in seven seasons when the Midshipmen come to Willett Hall. Gillian also said the program is excited to host Seton Hall in December.
"Even though the game is not while school is in session, we are thrilled to have Seton Hall coming into Willett Hall this year," explained Gillian. "We had a great game with them a year ago in New Jersey and will certainly be ready to go when they get to town on December 23rd."
The game between Longwood and UVA will be the sixth meeting in seven years at John Paul Jones Arena. The game at Vanderbilt will mark the first time the two schools have done battle in men's basketball. The game at Gonzaga will also be the first meeting between the two schools. Gillian knows that the Lancers will have to fight tooth and nail to compete in these big games.
"The high profile opponents we are playing against this year are proven to be among the nation's elite programs and will provide the opportunity for us to test ourselves against teams with a shot to play very deep into the NCAA Tournament," said Gillian. "The games are also in incredible venues that provide our players with experiences that will last a lifetime."
The Lancers finished 2010-11 with a 12-19 overall record. They were 10-4 at home in Willett Hall where the program is 32-9 over the last three years. Longwood has 12 home games this season. The Lancers host Canisius in Farmville on Nov. 15 at 7 pm, the first-ever meeting between the schools. Longwood also has a home game against Big South Conference opponentVMI in Willett Hall on Dec. 12, at 7 pm.
The other home games on the schedule in Willett Hall include: Virginia Intermont (Nov. 13) South Carolina State (Dec. 2), New Jersey Institute of Technology (Jan. 7), Southern Virginia (Feb. 2), Seattle (Feb. 11), Washington Adventist (Feb. 15), North Dakota (Feb. 18) and Virginia-Wise (Feb. 22). Longwood and NJIT have played nine games over the past five seasons.The Lancers lead the all-time series 6-3. Longwood and Seattle will meet for the first time this year.
The rest of the road games will be played at in-state opponent Norfolk State (Feb. 20), Army (Jan. 3), Brown (Jan. 11), Dartmouth (Jan. 14), Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 16), Eastern Kentucky (Jan. 22), Florida Gulf Coast (Jan. 24), South Carolina State (Feb. 6), NJIT(Feb. 25), and Seattle (Feb. 29). Longwood is playing Army, Brown, Dartmouth and Eastern Kentucky for the first time.
Longwood has four starters and 10 lettermen returning for this season, including seniors Antwan Carter, Jeremiah Bowman, Durann Neil and Jan van der Kooij. Carter averaged a team-leading 18.2 points and 9.5 rebounds last season. He was also given Independent Player of the Year honors. Bowman averaged 12.2 points and 4.3 assists in his first year with Longwood. Neil averaged 8.7 points and 2.9 assists in his first season back after being sidelined with an injury. Van der Kooij averaged 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds. The program also returns senior Martiz Washington, who averaged 10.4 points. Washington was also the best three-point shooter for Longwood with 85 three-point field goals. Sophomore transfer Tristan Carey finally joins the roster this year after sitting out last season because of his transfer from LaSalle University. In 2009, while playing high school ball, he scored 884 points, which tied for the third-highest season total in Virginia High School League history behind Moses Malone and Allen Iverson.
