NAGODOCHES, Texas – One of the biggest homecourt advantages in college basketball showed up when the home team needed it most, propelling reigning Southland Conference champion Stephen F. Austin in the final minute to thwart Longwood's early-season upset bid, 66-60, Tuesday morning at William R. Johnson Coliseum.
 
Buoyed by a thunderous, early-bird crowd of nearly 6,000 fans in attendance for the ESPN College Basketball Tip-Off Marathon showdown, the Lumberjacks (1-1) extended their home win streak to 19 games with a final-minute surge against a Longwood team eyeing a major upset on ESPN2. The Lancers (0-2) battled to tie the game at 57-57 with 1:06 to play, but Leon Gilmore's go-ahead tip-in and Stephen F. Austin's efficiency from the free throw line sparked the Lumberjacks to a game-winning 9-4 run.
 
Gilmore's tip-in, which followed a missed layup from Aaron Augustin, gave Stephen F. Austin just enough cushion to pull away from the Lancers, who overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to seize a 57-55 lead as late as 2:02 in regulation. However, Nathan Bain erased Longwood's advantage with back-to-back free throws, Gilmore provided the go-ahead bucket, and the Lumberjacks hit seven of their final eight foul shots down the stretch while forcing six straight empty Longwood possessions to seal the win.
 
Even with the late surge, the Lumberjacks needed a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double from 6-8 sophomore forward T.J. Holyfield to overcome a recharged Longwood team that forced them into 23 turnovers, the most on their home floor since Texas State forced them into 23 on Feb. 1, 2012.
 
"I hope it builds some confidence," said Longwood head coach Jayson Gee, who nearly mirrored his last trip to Texas, which was a 72-69 upset win over TCU in Forth Worth on Nov. 12, 2013, in his first year leading the Lancers.
 
"There are new roles for everybody and a new system, so it's just going to take some time. We showed tonight what we're capable of. We can get a lot better, and we just have to keep working towards that. At the end of the day, we won't take any moral victories from this, but I hope it shows our guys that when they lock in and compete and play hard, good things can happen."
 
Playing fewer than 48 hours since a disappointing 22-point loss to Maine in Sunday's season opener in Willett Hall, the Lancers bounced back to nearly end a Stephen F. Austin winning streak that remained the fourth longest in the nation. Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Walton led Longwood with 15 points and three steals, Darrion Allen neared a double-double with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Isaac Belton poured in 11 points off the bench.
 
The difference for Stephen F. Austin came on the offensive end of the floor where they converted 22 Longwood turnovers into 24 points, compared to just 11 such turnover-generated points for the Lancers.
 
"There are no moral victories with us. We felt like we did enough to win, but at the end of the day we came up a little short," said Belton, who hit 3-of-4 three-pointers, including one that ignited a game-tying 9-0 run midway through the second half.
 
"We just didn't make those little plays. Our effort was great, and we competed. This is something we can build off of. It's going to be a special season if we can continue to play like this against teams like this."
 
The turnaround performance came on the heels of a season-opening loss to Maine in which the Lancers committed shot just .386 (22-of-57) from the floor and surrendered 22 second-chance points. Longwood improved in both those categories Tuesday, shooting .469 (23-of-49) from the floor while holding the Lumberjacks to just 12 second-chance points.
 
"I think one of the keys was mental toughness," said the senior captain Allen, who scored in double figures for the second straight game. "We were night and day from Sunday. We knew not having that was one of the reasons we lost to Maine the way we did. We play against ourselves when we don't have that toughness, and once we fixed that, we were a better team."
 
The Lancers will now look ahead to this Friday's return to Willett Hall where they will host Salem International at 7 p.m. That game will air live on the Big South Network and WVHL 92.9 FM and will mark a return to Willett Hall for Salem International head coach Adam Williams, who was an assistant coach on last year's Longwood staff.

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