FARMVILLE, Va. – In an all-out battle, Gardner-Webb found Longwood's Achilles' heel.

Gardner-Webb's strength exploited the Lancers' season-long weakness, as the Big South's second-leading rebounding team won the battle of the boards 48-28 and generated 21 second-chance points en route to an 85-79 win in a physical battle Saturday afternoon in Willett Hall.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs (10-9, 2-3 Big South) entered the matchup having outrebounded 12 of their past 15 opponents and added the Lancers to that list thanks to a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double from All-Big South first team forward Tyrell Nelson and a 22-point, eight-rebound game from 6-5 guard Jamal Robateau.
 
Playing against a Longwood lineup without injured forwards Damarion Geter and Jahleem Montague, the Runnin' Bulldogs grabbed 22 of their boards on the offensive glass and turned those extra opportunities into 18 additional shots from the field. That effort was enough to overcome a 22-point game from Longwood senior Darrion Allen, who surpassed the 900-point plateau and is now just 81 points shy of becoming the sixth 1,000-point scorer of Longwood's 10-year Division I era.
 
"Definitely the story of the game was rebounding the basketball," said Longwood head coach Jayson Gee. "I think size played a big difference, but we didn't do a great job boxing out. They were able to rebound the basketball, and we weren't."
 
The ailing Lancers (6-11, 3-3 Big South) won the turnover margin 21-19 and outshot Gardner-Webb from the field (.492) three-point range (.391) and the free throw line (.800), but the Runnin' Bulldogs made up all the difference on the boards. From their 22 offensive rebounds, they put together four three-point possessions, including a three-point play by Nelson with 1:43 remaining that extended a four-point Gardner-Webb lead to seven.
 
"If you can't rebound the ball, you can't win," Gee said. "They had 21 second-chance points, and it's difficult to beat a team when you give up that many second-chance points."

Lancer forward Khris Lane racked up his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds but could do little else to offset a Gardner-Webb team that rolled out five players 6-foot-6 or taller.

The Runnin' Bulldogs used that size advantage to build a lead as large as 16 points before the Lancers came alive late in the second half to trim the deficit to four points with 2:35 remaining. Isaiah Walton led that charge with 17 of his 19 points in the second half, but Nelson broke the rally by grabbing his sixth offensive rebound of the night with 1:43 remaining and turning it into a three-point layup after hitting an ensuing free throw.
 
"It's a credit to our guys that they were willing to fight and not give in to the circumstances of the situation," Gee said "They just kept fighting and fighting and fighting, and gave themselves a chance to win. But even at the very end, with all the second-chance points we gave up, it just wasn't enough to overcome the adversity."
 
The double-double was the second of the season for Nelson, who entered the game as the Big South leader in field goal percentage. He hit 6-of-12 shots from the field Saturday and teamed with fellow double-figure scorers Robateau and point guard LaQuincy Rideau to overcome Longwood's Big Three of Allen, Walton and Khris Lane.
 
Those three Lancers also scored in double figures with Lane pouring in 19 to complement Allen's 22 and Walton's 19. Senior Isaac Belton added nine points, but Longwood's short bench contributed just five as the injury-riddled Lancers rolled with a seven-man rotation for the sixth straight game.
 
Of those seven players, Walton was almost a no-go after suffering a leg injury that knocked him out for the final 16 minutes of this past Wednesday's loss at reigning Big South champion UNC Asheville. Walton suffered a laceration on his shin that required stitches but recovered in time to turn in his 13th double-figure scoring game of the season Saturday against Gardner-Webb.
 
"He said yesterday he wasn't going to play, so to go from that to getting 19 and five is pretty good," Gee said. "He had a great effort for us. One of the things I liked from him more than anything was he didn't lose his confidence, he didn't lose his faith in himself or his team. I thought he battled to the end, for sure."
 
The loss evens Longwood's Big South record after the Lancers started Big South play 3-0 for the first time in program history. Longwood is now tied for fifth in the conference with another home matchup against Big South and Commonwealth rival Radford (8-9, 3-2 Big South) coming up this Thursday, Jan. 19.

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