FARMVILLE, Va. – If first impressions are important, Longwood men's basketball made a big one Tuesday night.
 
Embarking on their debut season under head coach Griff Aldrich, the new-look Lancers (1-0) reintroduced themselves to their home crowd with a fast-paced, up-tempo style of play that generated a 20-point night from Preseason All-Big South guard Isaiah Walton, the first career double-double from sophomore Jordan Cintron, and an 84-56 season-opening win over Division III Randolph (0-1) in Willett Hall.
 
The win came in Aldrich's first game as a college head coach and saw the Lancers knock down 10 three-pointers, score 33 points off 26 forced turnovers, and get 53 points from a six-man bench, all while scoring the second-most points in a season-opener in the program's 15-year Division I era. Cintron enjoyed a breakout night with career-highs of 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Walton needed just 20 minutes to record his 15th career 20-point game.
 
The production from Aldrich's first edition of the Lancers was widespread, as Longwood also got double-digit scoring from newcomers Gus Okafor and Lorenzo Phillips. Those two members of Aldrich's inaugural signing class shined in their Lancer debuts, as the freshman Okafor hit four treys en route to 14 points in his collegiate debut, while the junior transfer Lorenzo "Shabooty" Phillips added a pair of triples as part of his 10-point, five-assist, four-steal night as Longwood's starting point guard.
 
But even in the postgame glow of his first collegiate win as a head coach, Aldrich was measured in his assessment of Longwood's performance, shirking the pride of a 28-point victory in favor of a critique of areas the Lancers should improve over the next 30 games of the regular season.
 
"It's good to get the win," he said. "But I wish we would have played a little bit better, particularly in the second half. To be honest, we certainly got up and down the court quickly, but I wouldn't say we ran our break the way we would want it to be run. It was a little bit too undisciplined, if I'm honest."
 
Those comments came from a head coach who is just six months removed from a history-making moment on the bench at UMBC, where he served as Director of Recruiting and Program Development for two seasons under his former college teammate Ryan Odom and helped lead UJMBC to the 2018 America East Championship and NCAA Tournament stardom after upsetting No. 1 overall seed Virginia in the first round.
 
Now in his first stint as a head coach at the college level, Aldrich's up-tempo brand of basketball was on display Tuesday to the tune of 17 fast-break points against the Wildcats. Five of those eight transition buckets came on dunks, including three by senior forward Spencer Franklin, who, despite his nine points off the bench, echoed his head coach's emphasis on improvement over celebration.
 
"It's a new year, a new system, so everybody's trying to figure out what their role is and how to play in this new system," said Franklin, who added five rebounds, a block and two steals in 21 minutes off the bench.
 
"The work we put in definitely showed, but there's a lot we have to work on and a lot of bridges we have to get over. We know we can be better, and we know have to get better, so we're still working."
 
Franklin provided one of Longwood's many sparks off the bench, hitting 4-of-5 shots from the field and turning both of his steals into breakaway slams in the first half. His nine points were part of a 53-point outburst from Longwood's bench, including Walton's 20, Franklin's 14 and sophomore guard Kamil Chapman's eight. Munoz also contributed three assists, dishing two of those to Okafor for a pair of three-pointers in the final 2:30 of the game.
 
Longwood's widespread contributions outpaced the one-man show by Randolph, who got 18 points and 12 rebounds from senior guard Sammy Hooper. However, the Lancers forced Hooper into eight turnovers – including four on steals, all by different players – to offset his 28-minute double-double.
 
Tuesday's win sets the stage for Longwood's first Division I matchup coming up this Friday against Commonwealth rival Richmond. The Lancers will take on the Spiders in the Robins Center, renewing a series whose last meeting saw Richmond pull away for a 77-59 victory on Dec. 12, 2015 in Richmond. Prior to that game, the Longwood Lancer Club will host an alumni gathering and networking event on Richmond's campus. More information about that event, including registration, is available at https://www.longwoodnetwork.com/2018---longwood-basketball-splash.
 
#GoWood