LAS VEGAS, Nev. (November 29, 2008) ? Led by Arturo Dubois' career-high 21 rebounds and Frisco Sandidge's career-high 21 points, the Delaware State Men's Basketball Team (1-8) dropped its contest with the Longwood Lancers (4-4), 69-65, on Saturday, November 29 during the final day of the Las Vegas Invitational.
“We are still making some improvements,” said Head Coach Greg Jackson. “We saw a lot of improvement today, especially from the guys down low. What is hurting us now, more than anything, is our guard play. We are not getting the consistent play out of our guards. Anytime you play a team that is guard-oriented, like Longwood, they can cause you some problems. We are definitely going to have to address the consistency of our guard play in practice. I am proud of the effort and I am proud of improvements that we are making even though we it hasn't translated into wins.”
Dubois, who registered his first double-double of the season, scored 13 points along with his 21 boards, while blocking four shots. The 6-foot-7 forward converted 5-of-10 shooting from the floor and 3-of-6 from the free-throw line. Sandidge shot 7-of-11 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe to register has first-career, 20-point game. Sandidge also grabbed seven boards in 30 minutes of action. Guard Donald Johnson recorded 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting (3-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc).
The Lancers were led by Dana Smith, who tallied 18 points and eight rebounds on the afternoon. Smith converted 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. Also leading the way for Longwood were Billy Robinson, Jr., and Kevin Swecker, both of which scored in double-digit figures versus the Hornets. Robinson, Jr., notched 15 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes played. Swecker registered 10 points, shooting 3-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Antwan Carter recorded a team high nine rebounds on Saturday.
Longwood opened the game on an 11-3 run through the first seven minutes of the game. Delaware State responded with a 12-3 run capped off by a jumper from Sandidge, giving the Hornets a 15-14 lead with 9:51 left in the first half. The Lancers regained their lead on a basket by Robinson, Jr., with 7:24 on the clock, 21-20. Delaware State was out-scored 16-9 during the final seven minutes of the half as the Longwood entered halftime leading, 37-29.
The Hornets shot 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from the floor (25.0 percent from behind the arc) during the first half of action. Longwood registered 50.0 percent shooting (15-of-30) during the first 20 minutes of action and was 3-of-11 from 3-point land.
During the second half of action, Delaware State tried to battled back from its nine-point, halftime deficit however, the Lancers held on to its lead, increasing it by as many as 13. DSU was able to cut Longwood's lead down, tying the ballgame, 61-61, on a 3-point field goal by Johnson with 1:43 left in the game. The Lancer ended the game on an 8-4 run to hand the Hornets their eighth-straight loss.
For the game, the Hornets shot 42.1 percent on 24-of-57 shooting and out-rebounded the Lancers 41-36. Unable to carry over the success from behind the 3-point line from the previous night, DSU struggled converting just 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from “downtown”.
The Hornets will travel to Storrs, Conn., to face the No. 2-ranked Connecticut Huskies on Monday, Dec. 1. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
