Each player had a role in Longwood men’s basketball’s dominating win over the Hampden-Sydney Tigers last Saturday, Nov. 10. Nine different Longwood players contributed points to the final score of 95-60; with five of the nine scoring double-digit points.
Leading the team in points and playing time senior guard, Quincy Taylor, made an impact the first minute he was on the court, putting the first three points on the scoreboard.
“He’s special, I told everyone that would listen that he’s a special player and he’s a special young man,” said head coach Jayson Gee. “Where he’s really good at is running our team and being a leader.”
In general, Taylor shot a .812 (13-of-16) and had six assists in the Longwood dominated game, leading by over 20 points for the entire second half. Aside from the statistics, his vocal presence and part in organizing the team was apparent.
“My role on the court is leadership—helping to keep our composure and focus for the game and also making sure we are at the right spots at the right time,” said Taylor.
Freshman guard substitutes Kanayo Obi-Rapu and Ryan Badowski both racked up minutes higher than three of the five starters.
Longwood made 17 three-point shots, nine of which gave the team half of their total points in the first half.
Badowski netted six of his ten attempts from three-point range, scoring 18 points, only trailing Taylor by four points.
On the attack, Longwood was a force to be reckoned with, making the majority of their field shots giving them a .647 average.
“Offensively, we played great,” said sophomore captain and guard Damarion Geter. “We had a lot of ball and player movement, having 21 assists showed that we had and took a lot of great shots.”
On the opposite side of the court, the team’s defense showed a need for improvement.
After Hampden-Sydney ended the first half with a .524 (11-of-21) average of shots from the field, Gee said he was “not happy.”
“In the first half, we didn’t defend the three-point line the way we wanted to and gave up a pretty high percentage from the field,” said Geter. “But the second half, we were able to decrease their percentage so we were pleased overall.”
The Tiger’s second half shot average lowered to .400 and their Big South player-to-watch junior guard, Mike Murray, turned the ball over three times.
The Lancers shared a lot of the defensive responsibility with Geter holding down their half of the court with six rebounds, a steal and a block.
“I thought he played great,” said Taylor of Geter. “It’s always good to have him on the court because of his high IQ of the game. He’s our smartest player and he is very versatile and unselfish.”
This game provided an avenue towards generating interest for the team before their next home game against Averett University on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
“It was really great to see so many people in Farmville come out to show their support for both teams. My goal and vision was to gain credibility in our own community, and I felt like we did that tonight,” said Gee.
After a well-earned win, Longwood begins the season with a fresh, positive outlook on their future.
“This was a big win for the team, it was a great start to what is supposed to be a great year,” said Geter. “It was our first time playing in a game together so this was a great way to start off.”
