FARMVILLE, Va. – The biggest foe Darrion Allen faced Wednesday was with him hours before tipoff.
 
"I don't know if it's a huge sinus cold or a head cold or something, but I can't breathe right. You can probably hear it right now," said a nasally Allen. "If I wasn't moving, my head would start pounding. I could only breathe through my mouth, but I just played through it. I asked myself if this were a championship game, would I still play?"
 
Play like it was a championship game Allen did, as the senior captain erupted for a career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting to give the Lancers (3-6) a much-needed 86-67 win over Division III Averett Wednesday night in Willett Hall. The win was Longwood's first on the recently named Jerome Kersey Court and featured a season-high six Lancers in double-digit scoring.
 
At the front of that pack was Allen, who torched the Cougars (2-6) for three three-pointers and knocked down all five free throws across 34 minutes of action en route to his second 20-point game. He hit a trey for the 18th consecutive game, propelling Longwood to its largest margin of victory this season and pushing himself to within 173 points of reaching 1,000 for his career.
 
The win came in Longwood's first home game since suffering a 113-58 road loss at undefeated No. 10 Creighton this past Friday and a 97-60 road loss at George Mason, now winners of eight straight, Monday.
 
"Coming off the road from big losses, we came down before the game, sat with each other and defined who we are, who we need to be and what we need to do to," Allen said. "We really used this game to focus on what we needed to do to make ourselves better."
 
The Lancers shot a season-best .618 (34-of-55) from the field and .500 (7-of-14) from long range while committing just 11 turnovers, tied for their second fewest this season. The backcourt trio of Allen, Isaac Belton and Isaiah Walton sparked those offensive fireworks, combining for eight assists and just two turnovers while each scoring in double figures.
 
"I was very impressed with that," Gee said of the Longwood's backcourt. "No matter who we've played, turnovers have been a monumental thing. We have to understand that if we're going to be in ballgames, we have to take care of the ball, and we did that tonight."
 
Walton added 17 points with four assists and no turnovers, while Belton enjoyed a breakout performance off the bench with a season-high 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal over a career-high 27 minutes.
 
"My hat's off to Isaac Belton," Gee said. "Eleven points, six rebounds, and we had him starting the second half. We need him as we move forward to do some big things. He's capable. I yell at him all the time, I say 'Hey, you're a senior.' We have great expectations for him. I love the fact he had all those stats and just one turnover. If we can get that out of Isaac Belton, we'll be just fine."
 
Belton contributed to a major in-game turnaround on the boards where Averett opened the game by outrebounding Longwood 24-16 in the first half. Sixteen of those boards came on the offensive glass, but Longwood turned the tables in the second half, outrebounding Averett 17-14 while allowing just four offensive rebounds.
 
Longwood forward Khris Lane also played a major role in that effort, grabbing six of his game-high 11 boards after halftime on the way to his third double-double.
 
"I was really impressed with way Lane rebounded the ball," said Longwood head coach Jayson Gee. "[Averett's] success in the first half came because they had 16 offensive rebounds. I challenged our guys to not give up more than five, and they only gave up four. I was proud of that effort."
 
Sophomore forward Chris Shields and freshman frontcourt mate JaShaun Smith also scored in double figures for Longwood, combining to hit 9-of-12 shots from the floor.
 
Averett got a team-high 15 points from guard Jalen Burnett, 14 from Ketner, 12 from Charles Bryant and 10 from Taj Thompson.
 
The win comes in Longwood's final home game before the holiday break, as the Lancers hit the road for a two-game road trip to Ball State on Dec. 19 and Texas Tech on Dec. 21. The game at Ball State airs on ESPN3, while the Texas Tech matchup will be televised by Fox Sports Southwest.
 
#GoWood