FARMVILLE, Va. – UNC Asheville freshman MaCio Teague went off for a career-high 30 points to lift the Bulldogs to their sixth consecutive win, 91-69 over Longwood Saturday evening in Willett Hall.
 
Fresh off a 104-101 double-overtime win over Big South preseason favorite Winthrop on Thursday, UNC Asheville (20-7, 12-2 Big South) brought that momentum into Longwood's home gym and built a double-digit halftime lead on the strength of a 24-point first half from Teague.
 
"Teague was just unbelievable in the first half," Longwood head coach Jayson Gee said. "He hit some unbelievable shots and got hot there early, and I thought that really was the difference in the game, his singular effort. He just took the game out of reach for us."
 
The Big South Freshman of the Year contender entered the game averaging 15.4 points per game, sixth best in the conference, and hit 10-of-16 shots from the field en route to the first 30-point game of his collegiate career. He knocked down 6-of-10 three-pointers, including five of his first six, and scored 18 consecutive points during an 18-4 first-half run that put Longwood (6-19, 3-11 Big South) into a 19-point hole.
 
"No defense for it," Gee said. "A couple of them were open, particularly in transition, but then when we really got on him, he still made shots. When you let a guy who's really, really good get hot, some of those things happen."
 
The 30-point effort was enough to make UNC Asheville the Big South's first 20-win team this season and keep the Bulldogs atop the conference standings with a head-to-head tiebreak lead over 12-2 Liberty.
 
The win is the latest in a dominant stretch for UNC Asheville, which has now won 10 of its past 11 games, eight of which have been by double figures. The Bulldogs keyed in on Longwood senior and recent 1,000-point club inductee Darrion Allen, who led the team with 17 points but needed 21 field goal attempts to get there.
 
"DJ really played his heart out; unfortunately he missed a ton of shots he normally makes, and when you're playing a good team you just can't miss those shots," Gee said. "Not just him, but I think our entire team, we didn't shoot the ball well. This is probably the best group of shots we've gotten in a long time, and we were unable to convert them. Maybe it was their defense, but I do know the shots we got at the basket and around the basket were as good as any we've had before."
 
Longwood put five players in double-figure scoring for the second straight game, and second time this season, but could not overcome Teague's runaway first half. Isaiah Walton and JaShaun Smith added 12 points apiece, and Khris Lane and Chris Shields added 11.
 
"I was pleased with JaShaun. He got aggressive, and we needed him to," Gee said. "He did that against a really good team. His 12 points and eight rebounds really made a big difference for us and kept us close. But I like more than he got three offensive rebounds. We talked going into the game that we needed to rebound more, particularly on the offensive end, and I thought he took that challenge and was very productive."
 
The Lancers return to their home court again this Wednesday for another showdown against a league front-runner, as Winthrop comes to Jerome Kersey Court for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
 
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