BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – In a pressure cooker of a game, facing down the reigning Big South champions in a hostile environment, Longwood withstood the heat.
 
Rising to the top in a game full of heroic performances on both ends of the floor, Lancer sophomore DeShaun Wade stole the spotlight in the closing minutes of overtime with a go-ahead three-pointer that put Longwood (8-15, 3-7 Big South) ahead for good and propelled the Lancers to an 84-81 overtime win against reigning Big South champ and conference preseason No. 2 pick Gardner-Webb (8-13, 4-5 Big South).
 
Wade's game-winning bucket put gave the Lancers an 80-77 lead with 1:36 to play and was his second go-ahead three-pointer after halftime. He followed those two shots with another game-clinching play in the closing seconds when he drew a charge against Gardner-Webb standout Jose Perez on the Runnin' Bulldogs' final possession.
 
"That was a great game," Aldrich said. "Gardner-Webb put up a terrific fight. They're a very good team, very well coached, and I'm good friends with Tim Craft who's a tremendous coach and just a tremendous guy. It was a heck of a game."
 
The charge call against Perez put to rest a wild contest that was back and forth from whistle to whistle. Longwood overcame a 14-point deficit in the first half with an 18-2 run, Gardner-Webb tied the game on a Jose Perez three-pointer with 14 seconds left in regulation, and overtime saw the teams deadlock twice until Wade's three-pointer put Longwood ahead for good.
 
Even overtime was ruled by momentum swings, serving as a five-minute microcosm of one of the Big South's most competitive games of the season. In that extra period, Gardner-Webb overcame a four-point deficit to tie the game at 77-77 with 2:03 to play, Longwood responded with a 6-0 run to push the lead to 83-77, and Bulldog guard Nate Johnson converted a rare four-point play with 20 seconds remaining to cut Longwood's lead back to two points.
 
A fruitless one-and-one free throw opportunity for Longwood on the next possession gave the ball back to Gardner-Webb with a chance to tie, but officials negated Perez' ensuing layup with 7.7 seconds remaining as Wade met him in the lane and drew the offensive foul.
 
"We played hard. We played connected, for the most part," Aldrich said. "I didn't like how we started the game; we were a little tentative out of the gate, and that wasn't what we wanted. But I do think we came back and for the most part were the aggressor throughout the game. Even when they came back, I thought they had to make some big, heroic plays. We didn't get into the bonus until overtime. This was just a different game."
 
Wade hit all three of his three-pointers after halftime to contribute to Longwood's second straight outing with 14 made treys. Senior JaShaun Smith matched a career high with 20 points – increasing his career scoring total to 998 – while Juan Munoz added 17, Shabooty Phillips 11 and freshman Leslie Nkereuweum 10.
 
The Lancers shot 14-of-24 from three-point range for their highest clip in Big South play this season and defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs on the road for the first time since joining the conference in 2012-13.
 
Woven throughout the victory was a strong defensive thread that carried the Lancers through sporadic scoring droughts and ultimately provided a pair of momentum-shifting plays in overtime. Longwood forced Gardner-Webb into 18 turnovers and converted those into 19 points, including two such turnarounds in overtime with charges drawn by Jordan Cintron and Wade.
 
The Lancers' forced the Runnin' Bulldogs into four turnovers on their 12 overtime possessions, including three of their final five trips down the court in the game's final minute.
 
Longwood also bottled up Perez, who entered the game among the league's top 10 in scoring, rebounding and assists but finished with just 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting with five turnovers. Forward Ludovic Dufeal led Gardner-Webb with 18 points, finishing a perfect 6-of-6 from the field.
 
 "That was really the key to the game," Aldrich said of Longwood's defensive performance.
 
Wade added a team-high four steals to that effort, while Cintron and Munoz both added two apiece.
 
"This was a team win," Aldrich said. "I look at Heru Bligen, played 13 minutes, Sean Flood, played 16 minutes and was 3-for-4 from three with four assists. We have guys who are contributing. This has been a hard year in many respects, and guys are continuing to fight. It says a lot about their character, a lot about who they are and the camaraderie these guys have been able to foster.
 
"[Assistant coach] Marty McGillan loves to say there are a lot of teams in January and February that just kind of start to fade, and largely because of issues in the locker room. I'm really proud of our guys because, barring a few exceptions, they have shown up to practice to try and get better. That's something I think is really special and I greatly respect about them."
 
The win is Longwood's second in the past three games and propels the Lancers into a rare three-game Big South home stretch that begins this Thursday, Feb. 6, against Charleston Southern. Bouts against Big South unbeaten Winthrop and Campbell follow on Saturday and Monday.
 
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