FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood's Big Three earned their nickname Saturday.
 
The senior trio of Shaquille Johnson, Lotanna Nwogbo and Tra'Vaughn White combined to score 45 points during a 51-20 run over the final 14 minutes of the game to pull Longwood out of a 20-point hole and propel the Lancers to a 92-81 win over Radford that secured the Lancers' highest-ever finish since joining the Big South.
 
The Lancers (9-22, 5-13 Big South), who earned the league's No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 seed Charleston Southern in the first round of the Big South Championship this Thursday at 2 p.m. in Buies Creek, N.C., trailed 61-41 with 13:59 to play, but Longwood's senior trio spearheaded an historic comeback that included hitting 18 of their final 22 field goal attempts and forcing Radford into four turnovers and two missed shots in their final seven possessions.
 
"Our faithful should be very, very proud of this team, their effort and their resiliency," said third-year head coach Jayson Gee, who guided Longwood to the Big South semifinals last season.
 
"This team has faced so much adversity, and for them not to give up down 20 points, I tell you, it really brings emotion to my heart. For all the things we've battled this year, and for them to do that, that really tells me a lot about who they are as people. There are a lot of teams in the country that couldn't have done that under these circumstances. I'm very, very proud. I don't know what else to say. I'm just extremely proud."
 
Johnson, Nwogbo and White were all 20-point scorers Saturday, though Nwogbo was the only one who had reached double figures before the 14-minute mark in the second half. Radford (16-14, 9-9 Big South) had built a 20-point lead to that point before Nwogbo threw down the dunk that sparked a 32-10 run that gave Longwood its first lead of the night, 73-71 with 6:01 left in the game.
 
White, who had shot just 4-of-13 over the first 33 minutes of the game, hit a layup and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to give Longwood that lead.
 
 "I just really challenged them to show their heart," Gee said of the late run. "To show what they're really about. Let's send a message. Let's find a way to fight."
 
Nwogbo's run-sparking dunk, his third of four on the night, was opened up by one of Johnson's four assists. Nwogbo hit his final seven shots from the field as part of a 17-of-19 shooting performance from the Big Three over that final 13:59. The rest of Longwood's lineup took just three shots during that span.
 
The 6-8, 255-pound Nwogbo poured in a career-high 29 points in his regular season finale, while Johnson added 21 and White scored 20. Sixteen of those points from Nwogbo and White came over the final 14 minutes, while Johnson added 13.
 
"I think when you have a big-time point guard, a big-time athlete and a big-time center, you have a chance," Gee said of his three seniors. "But Lotanna is just playing at such a high level that no one can do anything about him, whether you double him, whether you rotate guys on him."
 
Radford became the latest victim of Nwogbo's dominance, allowing the league's double-double leader his fourth 20-point effort in the past five games. His 12 field goals were a career high and included four dunks, giving him a Longwood-record 58 on the season.
 
Nwogbo's last two buckets came at crucial points in the game, hitting a jumper to turn a one-point deficit into 77-76 lead with 3:11 left on the clock and then expanding a one-point lead to 82-79 with a second-chance layup with 1:36 left in the game.
 
Johnson then hit a jumper to extend Longwood's lead to 84-79, and Bryan Gee followed with a steal against Radford senior point guard Rashun Davis with 55 seconds left. Davis had lit Longwood up for 12 points and eight assists to that point, but that turnover was his third of the half to Gee, who picked three steals in that one-on-one matchup after halftime.
 
"I really have to give a lot of credit to my son," the elder Gee said. "I went into the locker room and said, 'Forgive me, guys. Give me five seconds to be a dad.' And I just hugged Bryan and squeezed him. I was really proud of him. It was the first time all year I felt like a dad. I've been talking about him and being tough on him all year long.
 
I thought the steal he had at the end was crucial. The challenge he took…he's guarding a big-time point guard, and he wanted it. He wanted to guard him. I thought Davis hurt us at the start of the game, and Bryan locked him up and enabled us to come back."
 
Radford sophomore guard Justin Cousin led Radford with 24 points, while senior Cameron Jones scored 18 and classmate Davis added 12 on their senior night.
 
Longwood ends the regular season tied with Campbell, Charleston Southern and Presbyterian at 5-13 in conference play. The Big South tiebreak procedures puts the Lancers atop that group for eighth place, the program's highest finish in the final league standings despite playing with a depleted lineup that saw four of its five starters rank among the conference's top 10 in minutes per game.
 
Longwood will face No. 9 seed Charleston Southern in the first round of the Big South Championship, which opens Thursday, March 3 in Buies Creek, N.C. With a win, Longwood would move on to the quarterfinals to face No. 1 seed High point Friday at noon.
 
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