FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich may want to bottle up whatever he said at halftime on Wednesday night. His Lancers came in down six and proceeded to shoot the lights out in the second half on the way to a 72-64 win over Campbell.
 
The Lancers (11-5, 3-0 Big South) shot .727 (16-22) from the floor to stay unbeaten in Big South play and match the program's best start since joining the league in front of a raucous crowd in Willett Hall. The team had 10 assists on those 16 made shots in the second half.
 
"I just told them, I said, 'Guys, when you're about to shoot, just think about what my shot would look like,'" said Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich with a laugh. "No, honestly, I think in many regards, their focus went up and made them more crisp. We got out more in transition. When their focus went up on the defensive end, I think the aggressiveness on the defensiveness carried over to the offensive end. I think that was kind of a big piece."
 
That shooting spree helped Longwood outscore Campbell (9-7, 2-3 Big South) 45-31 in the final 20 minutes. Jordan Perkins scored a season-high 14 points to lead the charge, but he had plenty of help. Justin Hill poured in 12 points, all after halftime, and Leslie Nkereuwem and Isaiah Wilkins matched him with a dozen apiece.
 
The quartet also added 14 assists, with Hill's six assists leading the way.
 
"Isaiah was again very strong, but three assists and no turnovers, that's huge," Aldrich added. "You look at Justin, he had 12 points, but he had six assists and three turnovers. That's real growth from his side of being able to not only score but also be able to distribute the basketball. And I can't say enough about Jordan. Jordan had 14 points, hit two huge three's, but then had four assists, one turnover. He X'ed out, which means on a ball screen he jumped out and guarded Jesus Carralero. I thought he had a really solid game. I was really proud of him."
 
The reinvigorated offense came thanks, in part, to a stingy defense that locked down Campbell as well. The Lancers turned six Campbell turnovers into 10 points the other way after halftime, and they helped cool off a Campbell side that shot better than 50 percent in the first half. After halftime, Campbell only hit two three's and shot .414 from the floor. Austin McCullough led the Camels with 17 points, and Jordan Whitfield added 16.
 
"I thought we got frustrated on the offensive end in the first half, and that led us to being a little clumsy on the defensive end," said Aldrich. "We cleaned that up in the second half, and our defense led to our offense as opposed to the other way around. That's who you've got to be. We talked about that at halftime. If you turn it over, mess up, you have to go and get the defensive stop. That's what the great teams do. Its next play, and you're really focused."
 
After leading by six at the half, Campbell pushed the lead to 36-27 early in the second half on a three-point play by Jordan Whitfield, but Wilkins came down and nailed a three to get the Lancers rolling. Jesper Granlund drained back-to-back triples to cut the lead to one possession, and the two sides battled back and forth over the next few minutes.
 
Hill got going for Longwood, and Granlund equaled the score at 53 all with a wonderful backdoor feed from Perkins with less than eight minutes to play. After the defense induced a miss, DeShaun Wade finally put the Lancers over the hump with 7:11 to play. He hit a free throw and drained a corner three to give Longwood a 57-53 lead. Perkins capped the surge with a three-pointer that pushed the lead to seven at 62-55, and the Lancers were firmly in control.
 
"I though Jesper made some big shots, and DeShaun Wade hit two huge three's," said Aldrich. "Jordan Perkins hits two three's, one that we really needed in the first half when we finally got a good shot against their zone defense. And then in the second one he hit was a dagger."
 
From that point on, the defense bogged down Campbell as the offense polished off the game with free throws.
 
The Lancers are headed down to Presbyterian this weekend for a Saturday matinee at 3 p.m. The game will be on ESPN+ and WVHL 92.9 Kickin' Country. The team then heads to Hampton on Monday night at 6 p.m.
 
For the latest in news, scores and schedules, head to www.longwoodlancers.com, download the HorsePower Fans app, or follow the Longwood social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook.
 
#HorsePower