The Longwood Men's Basketball team ended their 2011-12 season last Wednesday night, losing on the road to Seattle 111-74. Unfortunately, the Lancers could not avenge their one-point overtime loss to Seattle earlier in February. Finishing the season with three consecutive losses, the Lancers won a total of ten games, six of those decided by ten points or less. Scoring an average of approximately 74 points a game, the Lancers also recorded a total of 163 steals, and forced 410 turnovers from their opponents. Led by the new all-time leading Longwood scorer Antwan Carter (St. Petersburg, Fla.), the team trekked through their season playing teams familiar to the college basketball scene, including VMI, BYU and Gonzaga. Tristan Carey (Colonial Beach, Fla.) added 416 points to the Lancer's cumulative 2,276, followed closely by Martiz Washington (Hopewell, Va.) with 349. In their first 10 games, Longwood found wins against Virginia Intermont, Prairie View A&E, South Carolina State, and VMI, before losing five straight. The Lancers found six more wins to finish the season, including consecutive wins against NJIT and Brown.
Though the season cannot be described without mentioning their 22 losses, Mike Gillian and the Lancers still boast an impressive 46-19 record at home. On top of that, Longwood trumped VMI, who just recently played in the Big South Conference Championship, losing to UNC Asheville. A member of the Big South Conference beginning this July, the Lancers look to continue such success among VMI and other conference affiliates. Veteran head coach Mike Gillian carries his team into the Big South next year after nine Lancer sea¬sons, well-respected by those teammates returning and leaving. "All of the coaches really care about us. We are a family," commented senior Antwan Carter.
The Lancers will lose four seniors following this season, including Antwan Carter, Martiz Washing¬ton, Jan van der Kooij, and Jeremiah Bowman. Reflecting on their time playing for Longwood, some of the seniors found words to describe their time on the team.
In response to his work ethic and how it progressed, Carter said bluntly, "I am very competitive. I felt that if I did not go as hard as I could in practice, my teammates would not go as hard as they could." With the most points in Longwood history and averaging over 19 points a game, Carter said he would "keep God first" upon graduation, hoping still for a chance to continue his basketball career.
Martiz Washington (Hopewell, Va.) expressed how excited he was to work out with the team freshman year. "Gillian helped me develop the proper mental processing of the game, through small, disciplinary acts." Washington, who leads the University in three-point shooting, explained the importance of "muscle memory," and techniques such as "running after a follow through." Anyone who has seen a Lancer's game remembers Washington and his knack for the outside shot. Upon graduation, Washington expressed his de¬sire to continue playing basketball, possibly over¬seas. He also expressed desires to possibly join either the Air Force or Navy.
Jan van der Kooij a member of the team for four years, recorded 204 career points and 136 rebounds. From the Netherlands, Jan expressed how appreciative he was of Longwood's hospitality. "I greatly appreciated the opportunity to come to America and go to school here. Combining my education with athletics has definitely made me grow as a person." Jan is currently majoring in business administration, with a concentration in management.
The Longwood Men's Basketball team, however, will return several players to their upcoming 2012- 2013 squad, including Tristan Carey, David Robin¬son, Mark Parker, Jeylani Dublin, Jeff Havenstein, Stephen Shockley, and Anthony Taylor. The team will look to wreak havoc in the Big South Conference, and have their first opportunity to participate in March Madness for the coming year.
