FARMVILLE, Va. – Chicago State men's basketball finished a three-game road trip Monday night on a good note with a 94-86 victory over host Longwood at LU's Willett Hall. The Cougars improve to 10-8 on the year, while the Lancers saw their season record drop to 7-10.
After both teams battled through a pair of ties in the opening minute of the game, senior Kevin Swecker knocked down a three at the 18:30 mark that gave the home team an 8-5 lead. Sophomore Carl Montgomery (Chicago, IL/Shepard) recorded back-to-back buckets in less than a minute to give the Cougars a slim 9-8 leading margin at 17:18.
CSU and Longwood then battled through six lead changes and three ties in over six minutes before a jumper from junior Billy Robinson, Jr., handed the Lancers a 25-24 lead at the 10 minute mark. A 12-4 run over a span of 4:20 to claim a 36-29 lead at 5:40 with seniors David Holston (Pontiac, MI/Avondale HS) (Pontiac, Mich.) and John Cantrell (Pontiac, MI/Northern HS) (Pontiac, Mich.) combining to score 10 points during the run. The two squads then split the final 10 points of the half with the visitors entering intermission with a 46-39 advantage.
The Cougars began the second half with a 17-9 scoring drive in the first four minutes with Holston producing eight points en route to a 63-48 lead. LU later responded with a 10-3 run behind six points from Swecker to pull within eight points (66-58) at the 13:45 mark, but CSU tallied 14 of the next 24 points in 5:50 to hike its leading margin back to double digits at 80-66 on a three-pointer from Holston. The Lancers sliced their deficit to four (90-86) with 1:39 left in the game thanks to producing 14 of the next 24 points in six-plus minutes, but a pair of free throws from senior Tawrence Walton (Chicago, IL/Kennedy-King College) (Chicago, Ill.) and a Cantrell layup sealed the game for CSU.
Holston led all scorers with 32 points on 12-of-25 shooting and nailed six triples, while Cantrell recorded 27 points and went 13-of-20 from the field. Montgomery tallied a double-double of 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Cougars. Walton and senior Mike Wilson (New York, NY/Mt. San Jacinto CC) (New York, N.Y.) each added eight points.
Swecker led Longwood with 25 points and five steals while going 7-of-9 from three-point range. Redshirt junior Dana Smith notched 13 points, Robinson, Jr. produced 12 points and nine boards, and freshman Antwan Carter posted 12 points.
CSU will be idle for a week before starting a five-game homestand at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center on Jan. 20 against Eastern Kentucky with a start time of 8 p.m.
~ CSU ~
