LYNCHBURG, Va. – Longwood University dropped a 77-68 decision at NCAA Division I Liberty University Monday night in a men’s college basketball exhibition game played in Lynchburg at the Vines Center. Senior All-America candidate Charles Stephens/Danville led the Lancers with his game-high double-double of 16 points and 20 rebounds. Longwood will open the regular season this Saturday, Nov. 15, at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina -- a game to be broadcast locally on The All New Eagle 1490, WPAK-AM as well as worldwide on the Internet at longwoodlancers.com -- tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m..

At Liberty, the Flames scored the first 12 points of the game as Longwood trailed 12-0 at the 17:12 mark. The hosts extended the lead to 26-6 with 12:38 left in the half before the Lancers settled down with a 15-6 run and narrowed the margin to 32-21 at 4:16 of the opening period. Liberty, however, responded with a 10-6 run to lead 42-27 at halftime. A pair of freshman sparked Longwood in the first half as Michael Jefferson/Chesterfield and Husein Pistoljevic/Richland, Wash. scored seven and five points, respectively, while senior Nathan Fortener/Hartford, Ky. also contributed five points during the first half.

Longwood opened the second half with an 11-4 run to trim the deficit to 46-38 with 15:17 left to play as Stephens scored five quick points while Jefferson added a three-point play and Pistoljevic nailed his second three-point field goal of the contest. Liberty again responded, this time outscoring the Lancers 27-18 over the next 10:49 to lead 73-56 with 4:28 left. Longwood, however, just would not go away and fought back to narrow the final margin of victory to under 10 points with a 12-4 stretch run that included a three-pointer from Stephens and the final 77-68 decision. Senior Ryan Earl/Tustin, Calif. added six points down the stretch.

Stephens added four steals to his 16 points and 20 rebounds for Longwood; Jefferson finished with 14 points and six rebounds; Earl had 12 points and three assists; and Fortener and Pistoljevic each contributed eight points. Longwood shot 34% (23-67) from the field, including 6-18 on three-pointers (33%), and 64% (16-25) at the free throw line. Ryan Mantlo led four Flames in double-figure scoring with 15 points. Liberty shot 46% (31-67) from the field, though shutout on three-pointers (0-15), and 63% (15-24) at the line.