Longwood began their regular season with a 1-0 record, for the first time since 2007, after their 79- 53 win over Division III Averett University on Nov. 14 in Willet Gym.
Coming off their win against Hampden-Sydney, senior guard Quincy Taylor was unable to play due to a NCAA sanctioned three- game suspension.
Head Coach Jayson Gee felt the team managed the absence of Taylor’s presence well on the court.
“I was really proud of Leron Fisher and Kanayo Obi-Rapu, they really stepped up. Anytime you lose a great player like Quincy [Taylor] you’re at a disadvantage, but I still thought we came out and handled business,” said Gee.
Without Taylor, freshman guard Ryan Badowski stepped up to be the team’s lead scorer with a total of 21 points, all from outside of the arc.
“He is a difference maker, he’s a very talented player, he can really shoot the basketball. I’m very proud of him,” said Gee. “He’s a prolific shooter and he’s showing that.” Badowski’s performance earned
him Big South Freshman of the Week honors. He ended the game with a .583 (7-of-12) three-point average. Longwood’s single-game record for most three-pointers made in a game, during their DI era, is eight.
“I’m here to shoot. I’ve been a shooter all my life, a three is just a great aspect of my game. It spreads the defense out; when the guys are penetrating I’m always there, spotting up in the corner to shoot,” said Badowski.
Aside from Badowski’s performance, as a team, every player that stepped onto the court scored within the 40-minute period.
Defensively, senior guard Leron Fisher started as point guard and had four steals, the most on the team. Following him was freshman guard Kanayo Obi-Rapu with three.
“Leron Fisher played a really good game. I was really pleased with his effort, his attitude and his ability to get in the lanes and make plays for our team,” said Gee.
Gee thought his “ability to compete and play hard,” along with the “way he defends,” were assets in leading the team.
At the same time, Averett was able to exploit the many fouls given to them during the game.
There were 38 fouls called during the game, 22 of which were on Longwood. Nearly half, 21 points, of Averett’s points were from free throws.
“We fouled way too much, so we have to clean that up. We weren’t being disciplined, a lot of fouling,
a lot of reaching for unnecessary reasons,” said sophomore captain and forward, Damarion Geter.
Aside from the free throws, Averett University’s junior center Carter Jones scored 19 points on Longwood, eight of which were from field-goals made by using his body to turn his defender in the first half.
After expressing his frustration towards the team’s defense in the first half, Gee felt the team played better in the second.
“I thought we did a much better job at defending at the basket. Their big guy [Jones] had too many points and they had nine offensive rebounds. I thought we cleaned a lot of that up in the second half,” said Gee.
Jones only gained another two points from field-goals in the second half.
The Lancers finished the game with another lead over 25 points and will face Division I school, and 2013-2014 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) quarterfinalist, James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia on Wednesday, Nov. 19. at 7 p.m.
Longwood’s next home game will be on Dec. 3 against Ivy League Dartmouth University.
Longwood men’s basketball team begins season 1-0 for the first time since 2007 after beating the Averett University Cougars, 79-53. Freshman guard Ryan Badowski (pictured above) led all scorers with 21 points - all off of three-pointers. While junior guard/forward Shaquille Johnson (pictured left) was the third leading scorer with 12 points. Junior forward/center Lotanna Nwogbo was the second leading scorer with 13 points - 10 inside the paint and three free-throws. Six of the nine Lancers that were eligible to play got into foul trouble with four of the six players getting three fouls each, while the other two had four each.
Freshman guard Ryan Badowski saves ball from going out-of- bounds to keep the play alive against Averett University.