SEATTLE, Wash. – Even in the midst of a historic start to the 2018-19 season, Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich showed Saturday he's not afraid to shake up his rotation.
 
However, by the time his Lancers righted the ship against Denver on day two of the Elgin Baylor Classic, it was too late.
 
Taking advantage of a 10-point halftime lead, Denver forward Ronnie Harrell Jr. scored a game-high 23 points and came up clutch at the free throw line in the closing seconds to send the Pioneers (2-3) to a 64-62 win over comeback-minded Longwood Friday at Seattle University's RedHawk Center.
 
Harrell carried Denver's offense throughout the game, hitting six three-pointers and dishing six assists to help the Pioneers survive a furious second-half rally in which Longwood (5-2) overcame a 13-point deficit to pull back to within one point 14 seconds to play. Denver built that lead on the strength of a .490 shooting performance from the field, 10 three-pointers and 14 forced turnovers that they converted into 17 points.
 
"We had a lackluster first half," Aldrich said. "We turned the ball over on our first three possessions and had 11 turnovers. I was really disappointed with our effort and our focus in the first half. It was extremely poor. We found a crew there at the end of the first half that started to battle, so we just started them."

Longwood (5-2) struggled to overcome the sluggish first half that sent them into halftime trailing by 10 points, marking their first halftime deficit of the season. That 10-point difference prompted Aldrich to roll out a new-look lineup at the start of the second half, which outscored Denver 42-34 and shot .516 from the floor, but came up just short after Denver answered each of Longwood's late-game scores with scoring possessions of their own.
 
Playing without leading scorer Isaiah Walton for the second straight game, that second-half rotation featured starters Seán Flood, Lorenzo Phillips and JaShaun Smith, and reserves Spencer Franklin, Damarion Geter and Juan Munoz. All six played double-digit minutes in the second half, including Smith, who did not step off the court en route to playing a career-high 37 minutes.
 
After Seattle went ahead by 13 just 1:21 into the second half on a three-pointer by Taelyr Gatlin, those six went to work and embarked on a 17-6 run that trimmed Denver's lead to 39-37 with 10:45 to play.
 
"We told them at halftime, I don't care what the result is, but we're gonna find five guys who are going to battle and compete, and we're going to play with those guys. Juan and Gus Okafor were in that group. They did a really good job, and they came with the same energy. It set the tone at the outset, and that was a good half for those guys."
 
With both teams playing for the second straight day at the three-day tournament, Denver's lead swelled back to 10 points by the four-minute mark. However, the Lancers responded with a 14-6 run that featured a long three-pointer from Munoz and a back-to-back putback and contested layup by Spencer Franklin that trimmed Denver's lead to one with 14 seconds to play. Longwood scored on their final seven possessions with Franklin contributing six points during that stretch, along with three offensive rebounds, all of which led to second-chance points.
 
However, Harrell followed each of Franklin's final two field goals with trips to the line and converted 3-of-4 free throws on the Pioneers' final two possessions to secure the win.
 
Harrell intentionally missed his final free throw with 0.2 seconds left, and the final buzzer sounded before Longwood could get off a desperation heave.
 
"I was proud of the guys' resilience, the guys who were in the second half," Aldrich said. "I thought they really competed and gave us an opportunity to ultimately have a chance to win the game. I'm really proud of that. I thought they really tried to battle."
 
Munoz, who came off the bench to contribute and an assist off the bench in Longwood's 67-65 win over Fairfield Friday, scored a career-high 12 points and swiped a pair of steals against Denver. He finished 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range to help Longwood make up for the absence of leading Walton, who was unavailable for the second straight game.
 
Smith added 15 points, five rebounds and a steal over a team-high 37 minutes for Longwood, while Franklin finished with eight points, six of which came in the final 2:09 of the game. Jordan Cintron also scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
 
Along with Harrell's 23 points, Denver forward Ade Murkey added 13 points and six rebounds.
 
The Lancers will get a chance to leave the Elgin Baylor Classic with a winning record in the final of the tournament Sunday when the Lancers square off against host Seattle at 6 p.m. The RedHawks took down Denver 82-63 Friday and face Fairfield Saturday afternoon.
 
"They popped Denver pretty good yesterday," Aldrich said of Seattle. "They're an aggressive team that has a lot of talent and plays really hard. They have terrific guard play that we'll again have to address, but it will be a good challenge for our guys to come back and play and see if they can't bounce back from today's loss."
 
Following the conclusion of the Elgin Baylor Classic, Longwood will get nearly a full week to prepare for their return to Willett Hall where they will face VMI Saturday, Dec. 1, at 3 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
#GoWood