FARMVILLE, Va. – Saturday night in Willett Hall, a season-high crowd of 1,672 honored the Longwood men's basketball program's seniors in their final home game of the regular season.

But at this rate, with the Lancers now winners of seven of their past 10 games, Longwood fans may see plenty more of their team in the weeks ahead.

Continuing a turnaround that has seen Longwood now win seven of its past 10 games, the Lancers (13-17, 8-9 Big South) rode a career-high 19 points from sophomore guard DeShaun Wade and an end-of-game takeover by his backcourt mate Juan Munoz to a 57-54 gut-check win over High Point.
 
Those two spearheaded a game-changing performance from Longwood's bench, combining for 32 of 39 bench points to send the Lancers to their fifth straight win over the Panthers (9-20, 6-10 Big South) and second-year head coach Griff Aldrich's fourth straight over High Point head coach Tubby Smith.
 
"It was really a grind. It was one possession at a time," said Aldrich, whose 7-3 tear is Longwood's winningest 10-game stretch in Big South play since the Lancers joined the conference in 2012-13.
 
"What carried us was a commitment and a desire to win."

The victory continued a 10-game stretch that vaulted Longwood into sole possession of fifth place in the Big South standings with one game remaining. A top-five finish would be the program's highest regular-season finish in the Big South era and earn the Lancers a first-round bye in the tournament, while a No. 6-8 seed would secure first-round hosting privileges for the tournament's opening round on March 3.

However, High Point refused to give in to Longwood's weeks-long surge of momentum, overcoming a seven-point deficit to tie the score at 51-51 with 2:03 to play. Munoz stole the spotlight in the final minute, though, scoring Longwood's final six points in the last 37 seconds of the game. He began that takeover with a three-point play that broke the tie for good and capped it by hitting 4-of-5 free throws and grabbing a key defensive rebound on High Point's second-to-last possession.

"Tonight was an emotional night for a lot of reasons, and for them to win the way they did, I thought it was symbolic of the season they've had," Aldrich said. "They just continued to fight. I got emotional in the locker room, and as I told them, I'm just extremely proud of them and the fight they've consistently maintained throughout the season. To stick with it is just phenomenal. Where we are right now is 100 percent due to their character and due to their leadership."
 
That leadership came from throughout the lineup Saturday night, most consistently from the sophomore Wade who provided a physical presence that matched High Point's notoriously brutish style of play. The 6-2, 210-pound guard hauled in seven rebounds, hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor, and sent Longwood into halftime with a lead thanks to span of 4:38 to the buzzer in which he scored 11 points.
 
"I'll tell you right now, when we came out we weren't the tougher team," Wade said. "But we nipped that in the bud real quick. I think closing out the first half, we knew we knew we had to be that, so that's what we did. From that point, I think we were the tougher team for the rest of the game."
 
"DeShaun really stepped up," Aldrich added. "It's one of the benefits of having some depth with guys who can step in. If one guy's not hitting, then somebody else can step up and knock some shots down. It was outstanding, really across the board."
 
That depth also showed up in the production of Munoz, who finished with 13 points for his career-high 15th double-digit scoring game of the season, and fellow point guard Shabooty Phillips, who dished six assists in his team-high 32 minutes of court time. JaShaun Smith also added eight points and five rebounds, while forwards Jordan Cintron and Leslie Nkereuwem stepped up defensively to limit High Point big man Caden Sanchez to 13 points in 31 minutes.
 
"If you're a defensive-minded coach and you like defense, then this was really pretty. I thought we were fantastic defensively. Absent some offensive rebounds to start the game, I thought we were really terrific throughout. To hold a team to 33 percent shooting is fantastic, and I think even a lot of the shots they made were tough. I thought our guys did an excellent job defensively."
 
High Point's 54 points marked the third time in the past five games the Lancers have held an opponent under 60 points, all of which resulted in Longwood wins. High Point shot .333 (20-of-60) from the floor and hit just one three-pointer in 13 attempts, the fewest treys Longwood has allowed since shutting out Averett from beyond the arc in the 2014-15 season opener.
 
"We want this program to be about toughness and about fighting," Aldrich said. "Whether we win or we lose, we do things the right way. We constantly talk about pouring into the root, and that's what these guys have done. I'm grateful they're getting to see the fruit this season. That doesn't always happen. I'm just so proud of their character more than anything."
 
Already in possession of program records for both Big South wins and Big South winning percentage, the Lancers wrap up their conference slate this Thursday, Feb. 27 on the road at Presbyterian. Longwood will have a bye on the final Saturday of Big South play and await its postseason seeding for the tournament, whose first round begins March 5 at campus sites and quarterfinal and semifinal matchups follow on March 5-6 at the No. 1 seed's home court.
 
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