ROCK HILL, S.C.  – Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich isn't one to mince words.
 
Following a 101-91 defeat against Big South foe Charleston Southern this past Saturday, the first-year Lancer coach classified the performance as one in which his team was "out-toughed," "didn't have competitive fire," and devoid of "effort and fight."
 
So in his postgame speech Wednesday night when he told his Lancers he was "extremely proud" of them, he meant it.
 
In a milestone victory that was the program's first over Big South powerhouse Winthrop for any player on the roster, Longwood (12-7, 2-2 Big South) rode a season-high 30 points from Isaiah Walton and put together a dominant defensive performance to stun the Eagles 75-61 on their home court Wednesday evening at Winthrop Coliseum.
 
The bounceback performance saw Walton hit a career-high 12-of-21 field goals, Damarion Geter rack up four blocks, three steals and 10 rebounds, and the Lancers shut down the Big South's highest-scoring offense on the road. Walton scored at will in the second half, knocking down 9-of-14 shots, including multiple pull-up jumpers from the top of the key that kept Winthrop's home-court momentum in check.
 
"The competitive teams, the championship-level teams, they're urgent about every possession. They're highly focused," Aldrich said. "We talk about competing, but we also talk about being focused on the details. We shared a quote with them from John Wooden, that when a team or a person can fall in love with the details, they have a chance to be truly successful. We certainly weren't perfect tonight, but I thought the effort was truly terrific."
 
The Eagles (11-6, 3-1 Big South) entered the game unbeaten in the Big South, 6-1 at home and averaging a conference-best 88.2 points per game, but the Lancers held them to lowest scoring total of the season as well as a season-low .270 (17-of-63) field goal percentage.
 
Longwood dominated in the paint, outscoring Winthrop 28-18, and on the perimeter, hitting 8-of-26 three-pointers while holding Winthrop to .250 (9-of-36) clip. Anchored by the interior defense of Geter and JaShaun Smith – who matched a career-high with three blocks to go with 12 points, five rebounds and two steals – Longwood allowed Winthrop just three layups and one dunk all night.
 
The game marked only the second time in Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey's seven-year tenure that his shot below 30.0 percent and the third time this season the Lancers have held an opponent under that mark.
 
And in contrast to the loss Longwood suffered against Charleston Southern three days ago, as well as the letdown 71-64 defeat at preseason No. 1 Radford on Jan. 5, Longwood's defense showed up when called on Wednesday.
 
"We had certainly a few let-downs there at the end where Winthrop started to cut it, and I think fatigue started to set in there," Aldrich said. "This was another game here where we felt that. With Radford, we felt that, and they started to make a run, and we didn't answer. Charleston Southern, we had it down to four and didn't really answer. You could feel the momentum shift a little bit tonight, and I think we had a timeout that let us get a little bit more organized."
 
After holding a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half, Winthrop cut the deficit to six points after scoring six unanswered points nearing the three-minute mark. However, a media timeout sent Longwood to the bench with 3:23 to play, allowing the Lancers to regroup before confronting a similar circumstance that had previously seen them crumble in losses at Duquesne and Radford, and fail to meet the challenge three days ago against Charleston Southern.  
 
"There was awareness from the team then," Aldrich said of the huddle. "Sean Flood came up – and I was slightly annoyed at that point to put it mildly – and he said, 'I got 'em.' He stepped up in the huddle. From there, we just told them we have to be focused on details right now. We have to be focused on the little things. Then I said guys, this is fun. You're playing the top team in the league on the road, you're in a great spot – just go play hard. Don't leave anything on the court."
 
Winthrop's last points came shortly after on a pair of free throws by Bjorn Broman. The Eagles went scoreless for the games' final 3:06 as Longwood held them to 0-of-7 shooting and forced two turnovers the rest of the way.
 
"We stopped them on eight straight possessions at the end of the game," Aldrich said. "That's a huge credit to the guys. It takes not just great effort, but real focus to principles and things like that. I'm extremely proud of the guys. Extremely proud."
 
The victory snapped Winthrop's 10-game win streak in the series and gave Longwood its first win since first joining the Big South in the 2012-13 season.
 
The Lancers have now lost back-to-back games just once all season and are off to the program's best 19-game start since the 2000-01 season. Next up for Longwood is a trip further into the Palmetto State where they will face Big South foe Presbyterian in Clinton, S.C., this Saturday, Jan. 19.
 
"This is a big step for us," Aldrich said. "We talked about how there's no shame if somebody makes shots and beats you, or you play good defense and they just have better offense. But there is regret when you don't give it your all. I think tonight we saw that. I'm not a prophet so I'm not going to project the rest of the season, but this is a big step that we can point back to and remind the guys that when you do this, this is the position you put yourself into."
 
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