Longwood University Athletics

Game 9: Longwood (5-3, 0-0 Big South) vs. VMI (5-3, 0-0 SoCon)
Date	December 1, 2018
Time	3 p.m.
Location	Farmville, Va. (Willett Hall)
Game Notes	Longwood (PDF) | VMI (PDF) | Big South
Statistics	Longwood (PDF) | VMI (HTML)
Live Stats	Longwood Live Stats
Radio	WVHL 92.9 FM Kickin' Country
Video/TV	ESPN+
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodMBB

The Opening Tip
•    The Lancers return to Willett Hall to host VMI Saturday for their first home game since Nov. 16. The game will be sponsored by Haley AutoMall.
•    The game will be the second half of a doubleheader that opens with the Longwood women's basketball team's noon tipoff against Saint Francis.
•    The Longwood Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will also host a fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, collecting toys and coloring books for the Prince Edward Christmas Mother organization. Fans can donate a new, unopened toy or coloring book in exchange for one free ticket that allows entry to both games.
•    The Lancers are 2-0 at home this season, defeating both Randolph and Delaware State by double digits and an average of 22.0 points per game on Jerome Kersey Court.
•    Longwood's 5-3 record is the program's best start of the Division I era. The last time the Lancers won at least five of their first eight games came in 2002-03 under head coach Mike Leeder when Longwood competed at the Division II level.
•    Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich's 5-3 start is tied for the fourth-best of any first-year coach at Longwood, trailing only the matching 6-2 starts by Dr. Ron Bash (1978-79), Cal Luther (1981-82) and  Ron Carr (1990-91).

Last Time Out
•    Seattle got 22 points from Matej Kavas and 19 from Morgan Means and rode an big halftime lead to hand Longwood its largest loss of the season, 70-50, in the finale of the Elgin Baylor Classic.
•    Kavas and Myles Carter both posted double-doubles for the RedHawks, who staked a 38-15 lead and survived a 23-2 second-half run by Longwood to win their third straight game at their home tournament.
•    Seattle held Longwood scoreless over the final 9:47 of the first half, building a 23-point cushion that was enough to withstand a recharged Longwood team that won the second half, 35-32.
•    Lorenzo Phillips scored a career-high 22 points for Longwood, while Spencer Franklin added 10 off the bench.
•    Phillips and Franklin produced 29 of their combined 32 points after halftime to key a season-best 23-2 run for Longwood.

By The Numbers
•    Longwood is the Big South's top defensive team, leading the conference in opponent scoring average (61.4 ppg.) and opponent field goal percentage (.389). 
•    Longwood has held five of its first eight opponents under 40.0 percent shooting from the field.
•    Only two teams — Delaware State and Seattle — have scored 70 points against Longwood this season. 
•    Two of Longwood's three losses this season have been by one possession — 42-39 at Charlotte and 64-62 versus Denver. Longwood is 2-2 in games decided by one possession this season with wins of 66-63 over Maryland-Eastern Shore and 67-65 against Fairfield.
•    Longwood outrebounded its first seven opponents this season and owns a +5.1 rebounding margin through the first eight games. That ranks as the second-highest rebounding margin in the Big South.
•    Longwood's guard have been significant contributors to the team's rebounding prowess, combining for 41.0 percent of the team's rebounding. Isaiah Walton leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game, while Lorenzo Phillips averages 5.1, which ranks as the fourth-highest by a Big South guard.
•    Leading scorer Isaiah Walton has missed the past three games with an injury, during which Longwood went 1-2 at the Elgin Baylor Classic. 
•    In the five games with Walton, Longwood has averaged 68.2 points, shot .430 from the field and .340 from three-point range. In three games without him, Longwood averaged 59.7 points, shot .419 from the floor and .284 from three-point range.
•    Point guard Lorenzo "Shabooty" Phillips leads Longwood with 26 assists this season, 21 of which have come on made three-pointers. Coupled with his 15 three-pointers, more than 52 percent of Longwood's threes have gone through Phillips.

Series History
•    Former Big South counterparts Longwood and VMI meet for the 12th time Saturday in Willett Hall. The Keydets own a 9-2 advantage in the all-time series, which began during the 1981-82 season.
•    Saturday's meeting will mark the second straight season the teams have squared off after VMI won last year's matchup 81-70 in Lexington, Va.
•    VMI won all five games in the two years both teams were members of the Big South, 2012-13 and 2013-14. The last of those came in the regular-season finale in 2013-14.
•    Isaiah Walton and Damarion Geter both scored in double figures in last year's meeting with Walton scoring 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting and Geter adding 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
 
#GoWood