Box Score

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FARMVILLE, Va. -- Sam Hughes made two free throws with 17.7 seconds remaining to lead visiting UNC Asheville to a thrilling 67-66 Big South Conference men's basketball victory at Longwood University on Saturday evening at Willett Hall in Farmville.  Hughes finished with 10 points, while Andrew Rowsey scored a team-high 32 points, including eight three-point field goals, for the South Division Bulldogs (11-11, 5-3 Big South).  Senior captain Tristan Carey/Colonial Beach scored a game-high 33 points, including seven three-pointers, to lead the Lancers (7-16, 2-6 Big South), though missing a three-point attempt just ahead of the final buzzer.  Longwood will play on the road at another South Division opponent, Presbyterian College, on Wednesday night, February 5 at 7 p.m. in Clinton, South Carolina.
   
"I'm really proud of our guys, as you know, we had a difficult game on Wednesday," said first-year Longwood head coach Jayson Gee.  "We met as a team and spent about an hour and a half in the locker room … really just redefining ourselves.  I am really, really proud of the effort that Tristan Carey had -- what a special night -- I've been doing this for 25 years and coached NBA lottery picks and first round draft choices, and I've never seen a performance like he put on, and his desire and his ability to carry this team.  It's disappointing to have that kind of effort and come up a little bit short."
   
Longwood led 6-5 at the first timeout with 15:55 left in the first half, after a free throw by Carey, a three-pointer by sophomore Leron Fisher/Baltimore, Maryland, assisted by Carey, and a jumper in the lane by redshirt-junior captain Jeylani Dublin/Brooklyn, New York.  UNC Asheville answered with a 13-3 run to lead 18-9 at 12:34, getting a trio of three-pointers, including two from Rowsey.  The Lancers battled back to lead 21-20 at 7:58, behind five quick points each from Carey and sophomore captain Lucas Woodhouse/Greenlawn, New York and another basket inside from Dublin.  The Bulldogs, however, outscored the hosts 13-8 over the rest of the period to lead 33-29 at the intermission.  Rowsey had 12 points at the break, while Carey, Dublin and Woodhouse each had eight first-half points … the half featured eight lead changes and two ties.
   
UNC Asheville increased its advantage to 39-33 with 15:55 remaining, before Longwood fought back behind Carey, who put the team on his back and made six-straight three-pointers, to give the Lancers a 51-46 lead at 10:52.  The 18-point blitz by Carey took just 4:19, and featured three-pointers from all around the arc, near the line and well beyond, guarded or not … and following a pair of jumpers by sophomore Karl Ziegler/Annandale, Carey scored on a fast break slam dunk (see image above) for a 57-49 advantage with 8:28 left.  The Bulldogs, however, rallied back behind Rowsey (12) and Jaron Lane (4), outscoring Longwood 16-4 to go back ahead, 65-61, with 3:10 on the clock.  Rowsey scored the last 10 points of the run, including a layup, back-to-back three-pointers and two free throws.  The Lancers answered back with five-straight points, getting a layup and 1-2 free throws from Carey and a go-ahead layup from Ziegler with 1:14 to go.  The two teams traded turnovers before Hughes made his two decisive free throws at :17.7, and Carey's long, off-balance three-point attempt from near the Longwood bench was off the mark before the final horn.
   
Carey led Longwood with his game-high 33 points, including 25 (6-8 3FGs) in the second half, making 7-13 three-pointers, while adding a game-high eight rebounds.  He has now scored 96 points (32.0) in his last three games, and also totals 1,357 career points to move into 8th all-time, and his 213 career three-pointers rank 2nd all-time.  Woodhouse had 12  points and a game-high seven assists for the Lancers, and now totals 351 career assists to rank fifth all-time.  Dublin and Ziegler each added eight points, Dublin off the bench.  Longwood shot 50% (27-54) from the field, including 53% (8-15) on three-pointers and 44% (4-9) at the free throw line.
   
Rowsey led UNC Asheville with his team-high 32 points, making 8-12 three-pointers.  Lane finished with 12 points for the Bulldogs, while Hughes added 10 points.  Asheville shot 48% (24-50) from the field, including 48% (10-21) on three-pointers and 75% (9-12) at the line.
   
Longwood and UNC Asheville were meeting for the fifth time since 1985, but only for the third time (1-2) as members of the Big South, and the Bulldogs lead the overall series, 4-1.  Longwood is not scheduled to play Asheville again during the regular-season, but the two teams could meet again in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com/Big South Men's Basketball Championship, March 5-9.