The Opening Tip• Longwood plays the second of three straight games inside Willett Hall, as the Lancers welcome UNC Asheville on New Year's Eve and resume Big South play Thursday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.
• The game will be Longwood's first conference bout since dropping the early Big South opener 90-66 at High Point on Dec. 2. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs earned an 80-60 victory over Campbell in their early conference opener.
• In its three previous Big South home-openers, Longwood is 1-2, as the Lancers earned a 90-79 double OT win over Radford last season.
• Sophomore guard
Kanayo Obi-Rapu (13.0 ppg., 2.5 rpg.) is day-to-day with a leg injury suffered at George Mason. The sophomore has missed two straight games since leaving in the first half of Longwood's contest against the Patriots.
Last Time Out• Led by five double-figure scorers and a double-double from
Shaquille Johnson, Longwood routed Cairn 90-52 in the final non-conference game of the season Monday evening at Willett Hall.
• Johnson neared a triple-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in 26 minutes of action to lead a Longwood team that outscored the visiting Highlanders 54-23 after halftime.
• Two of Johnson's career-high seven assists went to center
Lotanna Nwogbo, who threw down four dunks and scored 14 points.
• Nwogbo and Johnson were two of Longwood's five double-figure scorers, joining
Khris Lane who netted a team-high 16 points,
Darrion Allen who had 14, and
Chris Shields who added 11 off the bench.
By The Numbers• In its win over Division III foe Cairn, Longwood had a season-high five players in double figures. It marked the first game in which five Lancers had scored in double figures since Longwood earned an overtime win over UNCG last season.
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Leron Fisher is one of only five Big South players averaging at least 10.0 points, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He ranks second in the conference with 4.4 assists per game, seventh with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, 13th with 1.2 steals per game and 22nd with 11.6 points per game.
• Fisher, who led the Big South in steals and steals per game last season, has recorded at least one steal in nine straight games.
• Redshirt sophomore forward
Khris Lane leads all Big South big men with 29.8 minutes per game. The 6-6, 235-pound Drexel transfer is one of only two players in the league averaging at least 10.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
• Longwood Big South Preseason All-Conference center
Lotanna Nwogbo is one of only two Big South players averaging at least 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. He joins reigning Big South Player of the Year John Brown of High Point on that list.
• A transfer prior to the 2013-14 season, Nwogbo has scored in double figures in 22 of his 29 games as a Lancer. He is averaging 13.5 points per game in his two seasons at Longwood, compared to the 1.9 he averaged in two seasons at Tulane.
• Senior forward
Shaquille Johnson has recorded three double-doubles in his three games since returning to the lineup. A 2015 Big South All-Tournament Team selection, the 6-5, 220-pound Johnson has four double-doubles in his past six games dating back to the 2014-15 season.
• Junior guard
Darrion Allen has nine blocks, tied for the most among all Big South guards.
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