FARMVILLE, Va. – Presbyterian guard Will Adams missed a go-ahead three-pointer with four seconds left but got his own rebound and hit a baseline jumper at the buzzer to lift the Blue Hose to a wild 74-73 win over Longwood in the Lancers' home finale Thursday evening at Willett Hall.
 
After Tra'Vaughn White sank a driving layup in traffic to put the Lancers (8-22, 4-13 Big South) ahead 73-72 with 10 seconds to play, Presbyterian worked the ball to Adams on the corner on their final possession. His first shot, in the face of pressure from Longwood guard Bryan Gee, hit off the back of the iron but bounced right back to Adams inside the perimeter, leaving him unguarded for the game-winning shot.
 
"We forced a pass to a perimeter jumpshot, which is what you want to do," said Longwood head coach Jayson Gee. "[Adams] is one of the guys we identified as a shooter, and we run at shooters. The ball went right back to him. We were hoping it would just be a regular rebound, and [Lotanna] Nwogbo could secure it, but that's the way the ball bounces sometimes."
 
The buzzer-beater put an end to a wild finish on Longwood's senior night in which the lead traded hands five times in the final 1:15. Longwood jumped ahead 69-68 on an Isaac Belton three-pointer, but Presbyterian (10-18, 5-12 Big South) regained the lead on a jumper from Reggie Dillard with 46 seconds left. White, the senior point guard, responded with two clutch free throws to put Longwood back on top 71-70 with 34 seconds left, but Big South scoring leader DeSean Murray gave Presbyterian another lead with two free throws of his own with 19 seconds left.
 
On Longwood's final possession, White took the ball at half-court, carved through the lane and sank an up-and-under layup for his 21st points of the night and a 73-72 Longwood lead.
 
The lead was short-lived, however, as Presbyterian called a timeout on Longwood's half of the court with 8.3 seconds left and then used Dillard as a middle man to get the ball to Adams on the inbounds, setting him up for the eventual game-winning putback.
 
"It's tough," said White, who erupted for his fourth 20-point game of the season. "I don't want to say it's the story of our season, but it just seems like we can't catch a break."
 
Murray scored 34 points for the Blue Hose, the most by an opposing player in Willett Hall this season. But despite the Big South scoring leader's dominance in the paint, Longwood outrebounded Presbyterian 40-35. Nwogbo grabbed 12 of those boards as part of a 24-point, four-block effort in his final game in Willett Hall. The double-double was his seventh straight and Big South-leading 12th of the season, but the final rebound was a long one that was out of his reach.
 
"It's easy to look at that last play, but I really feel like there were a lot more plays that were more reflective of our shelf life," said Longwood head coach Jayson Gee.
 
"A lot of plays happened out there because of concentration. Our battery level is so low, there's a lot of plays that were affected by that. I call them little things, and if we did one more little thing better, we could have come out ahead. But that's the way it happened, and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
 
Adams finished with 10 points for Presbyterian with his only points of the second half coming on the game-winner.
 
Longwood's senior trio of White, Nwogbo and Shaquille Johnson led the Lancers, combining for 49 points, 13 assists and 21 rebounds. The 6-5, 220-pound Johnson had a career-high 10 assists but fouled out with 2:02 to play. The double-digit assist performance was the first by a Lancer since Lucas Woodhouse dished 10 at Charleston Southern on Jan. 25, 2014.
 
"They've given us name recognition, first off," Gee said of his seniors, who joined the program as part of his first two recruiting classes. "I think our recruiting class will reflect that. They've given us credibility. People have a respect in our league for Longwood…They've set the table for future Lancers to come. The three guys we signed early, these seniors are the only reason we're involved with that caliber of player."
 
The home-court swan song for Johnson, Nwogbo, White and classmate Leron Fisher precedes the regular season finale Saturday at rival Radford. That 7 p.m. tipoff will be the Lancers' final tune-up before they open the first round of the Big South Championship Thursday, March 3, in Buies Creek, N.C.