Final Non-Conference Game Pits Lancers Against WAC Favorite Grand Canyon
Men's Basketball
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The Opening Tip
•   Longwood plays its final non-conference game of the season Thursday at Grand Canyon, facing the Antelopes at 8 p.m. EST in Grand Canyon Arena.
•   The game is the second straight in Arizona for the Lancers, who fell 95-61 to No. 3 Arizona State in Tempe Tuesday.
•   Following Thursday's game, Longwood will get a nine-day holiday break before opening Big South play at Charleston Southern on Dec. 30. The nine-day break will be Longwood's longest stretch between games since the start of the season.
•   Longwood has been without at least two key players in eight of the past nine games. Most recently, starting guards Isaiah Walton and Charles Glover have missed two straight games together.
•   The Lancers are in the midst of a long road stretch with five of six games away from home.
Last Time Out
•   Led by 20 points from the Pac-12's third-leading scorer Tra Holder, third-ranked Arizona State unleashed the nation's No. 7 scoring offense in the second half to pull away from Longwood 95-61 Tuesday evening at ASU Wells Fargo Arena.
•   Despite being down two starters, the injury-raved Lancers kept pace with through the first 20 minutes of the game, allowing Arizona State a slim 35-30 halftime lead. That all changed after halftime, however, as the Sun Devils deployed a stifling full-court press and sped up the tempo in transition to outscore Longwood 60-31 the rest of the way.
•   Longwood freshman Kamil Chapman erupted for a career night on the big stage, hitting a career-high five three-pointers — all in the second half — to lead Longwood with a career-high 16 points. B.K. Ashe also poured in 14 points.
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By The Numbers
•   Longwood has the Big South's top three-point defense, holding opponents to a conference-low .293 (98-of-335) shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Only Columbia (.410) and Saint Francis (.346) have shot better than 33.3 percent from long range against Longwood this season.
•   Longwood's .292 three-point field goal percentage defense is the 24th-best in the country.
•   Longwood has had at least two key players out due to injury in eight of the past nine games. The Lancers have had their starting five intact for just four of 12 games this season.
•   The only four players to have played in all 12 games this season are B.K. Ashe, Kamil Chapman, Chris Shields and JaShaun Smith.
•   Longwood averages a team-high 1.82 points per minute when redshirt junior Isaiah Walton is on the floor. Walton ranks third in the Big South with 17.2 points per game but has missed two straight games with an injury.
•   Longwood allows just 1.68 points per minute when Spencer Franklin is on the floor, the lowest clip on the team. Since Franklin made his debut seven games ago, Longwood is holding opponents to .397 (182-of-458) shooting from the field, compared to .441 (135-of-306) in five games prior.
•   Freshman Kamil Chapman has led Longwood in scoring in back-to-back games, including a career-high 16 points Tuesday against No. 3 Arizona State. Chapman hit five three-pointers in that game and is shooting .571 (8-of-14) from long range over his past two games.
•   Longwood has drastically improved its rebounding over the past six games. The Lancers were outrebounded by 11.4 boards per game in their first six games, but have dropped that differential to -4.9 over the past six games. Longwood has outrebounded three of their past six opponents and finished just -5 against No. 3 Arizona State.
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