ASHEVILLE, N.C. – In a showdown of first-place teams, reigning Big South champion UNC Asheville rode a pair of 27-point efforts from MaCio Teague and Ahmad Thomas to take down Longwood, 89-68, and stay atop the Big South standings Wednesday evening in Kimmel Arena.
 
Armed with two of the Big South's top five scorers and a defense that has surrendered the second-fewest points in the conference, UNC Asheville (12-6, 4-1 Big South) overcame a Herculean 32-point effort from Longwood's forward Khris Lane thanks to Teague and Thomas' combined 20-of-31 shooting effort from the floor.
 
The win was the latest of a four-game winning streak for UNC Asheville, which ascended into a three-way tie for first place alongside Liberty and preseason favorite Winthrop, whom the Lancers (6-10, 3-2 Big South) lost to 83-65 this past Saturday in their first conference loss of the season.
 
"I was impressed with UNC Asheville," said Longwood head coach Jayson Gee. "It was reminiscent of our game against Winthrop where I thought we did some things well in the first half, but we went down by 10 points at halftime. I thought we did some good things tonight, and we were still down by 11 at halftime."
 
Teague, the Big South's leading freshman scorer, was responsible for the bulk of UNC Asheville's double-digit halftime lead, going off for 17 points in the first half, 15 of which came in the last five minutes before the break. He gave way after halftime to his fellow backcourt mate Thomas, who poured in 22 of his 27 points in the game's final 20 minutes.
 
"I have to give Teague credit," Gee said. "He had 17 points in the first half and hit some unbelievable shots. I thought Isaiah [Walton] did a fantastic job on him, especially toward the end of the first half, but as all great players do, he made some tough shots.
 
"What a fantastic player to come into this league. He was tremendous."
 
Teague and Thomas provided enough firepower to offset a career night from Lane, who hit 12-of-17 shots from the field during a pair of 16-point halves.
 
"He was a man among boys," Gee said of Lane, whom he signed as part of his second Longwood recruiting class out of Drexel. "He's had a tremendous year, and what he's done against the really good teams has been more impressive than anything else. He just did it inside and out, and I'm really, really proud of his effort."
 
However, Lane was essentially a one-man show for the Lancers, who got just 36 points from the rest of their lineup and shot just 3-of-14 from three-point range.  
 
Lane's performance also overshadowed another blow for the Lancers, who lost both Walton and his fellow point guard Bryan Gee due to injury. Both left the game with 16:14 remaining and did not return, leaving the already short-handed Lancers with just six available scholarship players the rest of the way.
 
Walton and Gee's status has not been determined for this Saturday's home game against Gardner-Webb.
 
"We were certainly fatigued," Gee said. "UNC Asheville has so many options, but I was really proud of our guys. Nobody hung their head. We played a walk-on tonight in Dom [Ezeani], and I thought he did a terrific job. It was sad to see that Bryan couldn't play anymore, and it was sad to see that Isaiah couldn't play anymore. But these guys have just shown a lot of resilience. You can be fully loaded and not come away with a victory on this court."
 
After playing the preseason favorite and the reigning champions in back-to-back games, Longwood will return home to Willett Hall this Saturday, Jan. 14, to host Gardner-Webb (9-8, 2-2 Big South) at 2 p.m. That game will air on ESPN3 and WVHL 92.9 Kickin' Country FM.
 
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