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$8? Well Worth it!
December 11, 2012 12:06 pm ET by Parks Smith

Game #9-147: Longwood at Georgetown Hoyas

December 10, 2012 7:00 pm
MCI Center
BBState Stats/Recap
I've seen Longwood play plenty of big schools before. You always know that the game will likely end in a total dismantling, but there is always hope that you may just see a miracle take place. The Lancers have been a nomadic tribe in their time as independent, collecting paychecks from anyone who would have them. Thankfully those days are over.



I traveled to Washington, DC on Monday to see Longwood take on Georgetown, not with that glimmer of hope but rather just to have some fun. I grew up a fan of Wizards (Bullets!) and Capitals, so I thought seeing my alma mater play in the Verizon Center would be pretty cool. I usually make an annual pilgrimage to Chinatown to catch a NBA, NHL, or even the occasional ACC or NCAA tourny game. This year, with the Wizards playing like... well the Wizards and with the Caps not playing at all, I decided Monday would be my best chance to head to the District for some indoor entertainment.

I left Richmond around 2:30 PM to make the two hour drive to DC. I felt bad driving in because about 45 minutes outside of DC you start to see the commuter fleeing town for the day. I was pretty happy I was going into the city rather than out of it. I always love driving into DC. There is a moment on the highway where you come over a hill and its the first time you see the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building, the Pentagon, etc.. Many people in the are take it for granted, but I always try to remember how many people do not get the opportunity to see our nation's capital.

I pulled into the usual deck I park in at the Verizon Center ($20, not so awesome) at about 4:30. Longwood had an alumni event at a local bar, Bar Louie, set for 5PM. I tried to find the bar but walked past it probably about...ummm...five times. Then I finally realized it was connected to the Verizon Center. The event was great and it was awesome to see how many former players, fans, alumni, students, and parents showed up, not only at the event, but the game also.



I entered the the arena about 10 minutes before tip. I grabbed a beer (beer at a college game! YAY!) and found my corner seat about 10 rows from the floor, which I only paid $8 for. Longwood fans were vocal right off the bat and seemed to out number the Hoyas fans. Georgetown was kind of weird team at home and had struggled earlier this year against the likes of Towson, Duquesne, and Liberty. After some Longwood cheers, the Lancers scored first! 2-0! Of course I had to take the obligatory scoreboard picture:



After the first five minutes or so, I spotted our Athletic Director and some of his staff at center court. Troy (our AD) invited me to sit with him before the game, but there was some mix up at Will Call. I moved down to what I thought were the most ridiculous seats I could have... center court, front row. I'd seen Gilbert Arenas and Kevin Garnett battle here years ago (the year the Celtics won the championship) and could only imagine how much these seats would cost if it was that sold out evening in 2008.

My luck didn't stop there. I happened to be sitting right behind our radio guy, Scott Bacon, who I've developed a pretty good relationship with over the years. I've gone on the broadcast at halftime from time to time to discuss everything from the actual game to alumni involvement. Scott invited me to go on the broadcast Monday evening and talk about my site LancersBlog and what it was all about. Scott and I have also had an ongoing argument this year about Longwood's new star player Michael Kessens. I dubbed Kessens the "Swiss Army Knife" because he can do a little bit of everything and was born in Switzerland. Scott claimed I couldn't call him this because he was never a Swiss citizen, rather German and played his junior ball in France. The argument wasn't settled, but we both decided that it wasn't as good as Scott's nickname for former Lancer Jan Van der Kooij, which was the "Holland Heaver".

After the interview, I just kind of sat there enjoying the scene and ended up sitting there for the second half. Media row? At the Verizon Center? For $8? Can you beat that? Longwood was getting waxed by a Georgetown team that wouldn't let up, but who cares? This was one of the coolest things I've ever been a part of. My seats at Longwood are just as close to the court, but it just doesn't live up to sitting on media row at a venue where I watched so many of my heroes growing up.



I hit I-95 on the way home thinking about the next game and how it will likely be in front of less than 1,000 people at Willett Hall and what I just experienced at a 22,000 seat venue. Who cares about the outcome of the game? I got what I came for... a good time.


at GEORGETOWN 89, LONGWOOD 53
12/10/2012

LONGWOOD 2-7 (0-0) -- M. Kessens 4-9 2-2 10; T. Carey 3-5 2-2 9; J. Dublin 5-7 1-3 11; N. Brown 1-3 0-1 2; K. Ziegler 3-6 1-2 7; L. Woodhouse 0-1 0-0 0; J. Havenstein 2-5 1-1 5; D. Robinson 0-3 3-4 3; S. Shockley 1-4 0-0 3; M. Parker 1-1 0-0 3; A. Taylor 0-1 0-0 0; K. Staine 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-45 10-15 53.
GEORGETOWN 8-1 (0-0) -- N. Lubick 2-3 2-3 6; O. Porter 8-11 6-8 22; G. Whittington 4-12 0-0 8; D. Smith-Rivera 2-6 2-3 6; M. Starks 6-9 1-1 17; S. Domingo 3-7 0-2 7; J. Trawick 3-5 0-0 6; M. Ayegba 2-4 0-2 4; M. Hopkins 2-3 0-0 4; A. Bowen 2-4 0-0 5; J. Caprio 2-3 0-0 4; B. Hayes 0-0 0-0 0; B. Bolden 0-0 0-0 0; D. Allen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-67 11-19 89.

Three-point goals: LONG 3-9 (S. Shockley 1-3; T. Carey 1-2; M. Parker 1-1; D. Robinson 0-1; A. Taylor 0-1; N. Brown 0-1), GU 6-20 (M. Starks 4-5; A. Bowen 1-3; G. Whittington 0-5; O. Porter 0-1; J. Trawick 0-1; S. Domingo 1-4; D. Smith-Rivera 0-1); Rebounds: LONG 30 (J. Dublin 6), GU 22 (M. Ayegba 5); Assists: LONG 13 (T. Carey 3), GU 25 (N. Lubick 7); Total Fouls -- LONG 20, GU 15; Fouled Out: LONG-M. Kessens; GU-None.