Longwood University Athletics

Game 12: Longwood (7-4, 0-0 Big South) at Abilene Christian (8-2, 0-0 WAC)
Date & Time	Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 | 8 p.m. EST
Location	Abilene, Texas (Moody Coliseum)
Game Notes	Longwood | Abilene Christian | Big South
Statistics	Longwood | Abilene Christian | Big South
Live Stats	Abilene Christian Live Stats
Video/TV	ESPN+
Radio	WVHL 92.9 Kickin' Country FM
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodMBB

The Opening Tip
•    In the first game of a two-game road swing that will end the non-conference portion of their schedule, the Lancers face WAC powerhouse Abilene Christian Wednesday in Abilene, Texas.
•    Longwood's previous scheduled game, at St. Francis-Brooklyn, was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the St. Francis program.
•    The trip to Texas will be a homecoming for four Lancers from The Lone Star State: Justin Hill (Houston), DA Houston (Houston), Prosper Obidiebube (Houston) and Zac Watson (Plano). Head coach Griff Aldrich also lived in the state for more than a decade before coming to Longwood.
•    At 7-4, the Lancers are one win away from securing the program's best non-conference winning percentage of the Division I era. 
•    Longwood is currently the second-highest ranked Big South team in the NCAA NET rankings. At No. 154, the Lancers trail only No. 127 Campbell.

Last Time Out
•    Bookending a 2021 home slate in which they went a combined 13-3 on their home court – 6-2 in the second half of the 2020-21 season and 7-1 in the first half of 2021-22 – the Lancers asserted their home-court advantage in Willett Hall once again with a 98-56 rout of Carolina University Tuesday in Willett Hall.
•    The win was Longwood's third straight and gave the program its second 7-1 home start in four years under head coach Griff Aldrich and seventh such home start in program history. 
•    Leslie Nkereuwem led Longwood with 17 points, followed by Isaiah Wilkins with 15, Jaylani Darden with a career-high 11 and four other Lancers who scored at least eight.
•    Longwood hit double-digit three-pointers for a third straight game and got 52 points from its bench.
•    The Lancers held the Bruins under 30 points in both halves and forced 25 turnovers. 
 
By The Numbers
•    Longwood has the Big South's top three leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio. Jordan Perkins leads the conference with a 3.9 mark (35/9), followed by DA Houston (2.8, 33/12) in second place and Justin Hill (2.5, 47/19) in third. The Lancers lead the Big South overall with a 1.42 assist-to-turnover ratio.
•    Longwood has totaled more assists than turnovers in nine of 11 games this season. The Lancers' 11.8 turnovers per game rank as the second-fewest in the Big South. 
•    Longwood is the only Big South team with four players averaging double-digit scoring.
•    Longwood's bench is contributing 34.4 points per game, with 12.1 of those coming from Leslie Nkereuwem. Nkereuwem leads the Big South in scoring off the bench, as well as field goal percentage with a .658 (48-of-73) clip. 
•    Leading the Big South in scoring offense (79.7 points per game) and ranks second in scoring defense (62.0 points allowed per game), Longwood is one of only two Big South schools ranked among the league's top five in both categories. Longwood leads the conference in scoring margin with an average of +17.7 points per game.
•    Nate Lliteras and DeShaun Wade have both hit a three-pointer in every game this season. 
•    The Lancers have hit at least 10 three-pointers in three consecutive games. Longwood's .371 (99-of-267) three-point percentage ranks second in the Big South.
•    Longwood has excelled on its home court under fourth-year head coach Griff Aldrich, amassing a 33-17 record in Willett Hall during his tenure. That includes a 7-1 mark this season, an 8-5 record in 2020-21, a 8-6 record in 2019-20 and a 10-5 mark in 2018-19. 
•    Only Iowa and Georgetown have scored more than 65 points against Longwood. The Lancers have held five teams to 55 points or fewer.
•    The Lancers' +8.8 rebounding margin ranks 21st nationally, while their 14.0 offensive rebounds ranks 13th in the nation. 

Quotable
"We have a lot of good players. A lot of guys who I'm sure would love to have their scoring average be a little bit higher or their minutes a little bit higher, but they're sacrificing for the team and putting the team above themselves. That's exciting to see."
— Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich following the win over Carolina

Series History
•    Longwood and Abilene Christian meet for the first time in series history Wednesday in Abilene, Texas.
•    Longwood's last game against a team from the Western Athletic Conference came on Nov. 25, 2018, when the Lancers fell 70-50 on the road at Seattle. That game came in head coach Griff Aldrich's first season and remains Longwood's only bout against a WAC foe since Aldrich took over the program as head coach in 2018-19. 
•    The Lancers are still looking for their first win against a WAC team. Longwood has faced Chicago State, Grand Canyon, Seattle, Stephen F. Austin and Seattle since making the jump to the Division I level in 2004-05.

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