The Opening Tip
• After capping a five-game homestand in which they went 4-1 in Willett Hall, the Lancers hit the road Friday to renew a Commonwealth series against Old Dominion that has not been played since 2009.
• The trip to Virginia's Hampton Roads region will be a homecoming for several Lancers, including head coach
Griff Aldrich, junior
Michael Christmas (Virginia Beach), freshman
Jaylani Darden (Norfolk) and senior
DeShaun Wade (Virginia Beach).
• Longwood forward
Leslie Nkereuwem and Old Dominion forward Kalu Ezikpe were high school teammates at Discovery High School in Lawrenceville, Ga. Both played the same position.
• Longwood has outscored opponents by a Big South-leading 17.2 points per game. The Lancers also lead the conference in scoring defense (60.0 o-ppg.), assists (16.3 apg.), turnover margin (+3.33) and assist-turnover ratio (1.6).
Last Time Out
• The Lancers went 2-1 on three consecutive game days at the Jerome Kersey Classic in Willett Hall, blowing past American 82-42 and UMBC 82-55 Friday and Saturday before falling 64-53 to Western Carolina in Sunday's finale.
• That performance came in the Lancers' first home multi-team event of the program's Division I era.
• The two wins against American and UMBC extended the Lancers' early-season win streak to four games and marked the first time since Longwood joined the Big South in 2012-13 that they beat four consecutive opponents by double digits.
• Junior
Leslie Nkereuwem was Longwood's top scorer at the tournament with 14.7 points per game, scoring in double figures in all three games while hitting 21-of-28 shots from the field. He also added 4.7 rebounds per game.
• Fifty percent of Longwood's points at the tournament came in the paint.
By The Numbers
• Junior forward
Leslie Nkereuwem was named Big South Player of the Week Monday after averaging 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in three games at the Jerome Kersey Classic last weekend. Nkereuwem hit 21-of-28 field goals, grabbed nine offensive rebounds and scored in double figures in every game.
• Longwood leads the Big South in scoring defense, ranks second in scoring offense, and leads the league in scoring margin. Longwood's four wins have come by a combined average of 36.8 points per game and have all been by at least 27 points.
• Nine different Lancers have scored in double figures this season. Nkereuwem leads that group with five, followed by
Isaiah Wilkins with four.
• Longwood is averaging 37.8 points per game from its bench and has gotten at least 23 points from its reserves in every game. Nkereuwem leads all those bench players, and Longwood overall, with a team-high 13.8 points per game.
• Longwood point guards
Justin Hill and
Jordan Perkins have combined for 49 assists and just 13 turnovers through Longwood's first six games and have Longwood atop the Big South leaderboard in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Longwood is the only Big South team with two players who have at least 20 assists.
• Perkins leads the Big South with a 10.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (21/2), while Hill ranks fourth in that category at 2.5 (28/11).
• Longwood has assisted on 54.1 percent of all made baskets, which is the second-highest clip in the Big South.
• Only four Lancers have spent more than two seasons in the Longwood program: senior
DeShaun Wade, junior
Leslie Nkereuwem & redshirt sophomores
Nate Lliteras and
Cameron O'Conner. Half of Longwood's 2021-22 roster is made up of newcomers, including five Division I transfers.
Quotable
"Last year we were trying to get to where we are right now, but it didn't happen until the end of the year. This year we have all the pieces together and we're doing what we want to do; it's just a matter of doing it consistently throughout the year."
— Longwood junior
Leslie Nkereuwem on the Lancers' early success
Series History
• Longwood and Old Dominion meet for the third time in series history and first time since the 2009-10 season.
• The Monarchs are 2-0 against the Lancers in that series following an 88-56 win on Dec. 20, 2004, and a 98-59 win on Nov. 17, 2009.
• Both of the previous meetings between the teams have taken place in Norfolk.
• The first meeting between the teams came during Longwood's first year transitioning to the Division I level in 2004-05. Old Dominion was the 13th opponent Longwood faced that year.
• The last C-USA team Longwood faced was Southern Miss, whom the Lancers defeated 90-68 in the opening round of the 2019 College Basketball Invitational.
#HorsePower
