Game 13: Longwood (7-5, 0-0 Big South) vs. South Carolina State (2-11, 0-0 MEAC)
Date & Time	Tuesday, Dec. 20 | 2 p.m.
Location	Farmville, Va. (Willett Hall)
Game Notes	Longwood | S.C. State | Big South
Statistics	Longwood | S.C. State | Big South
Live Stats	Live Stats
Video/TV	ESPN+
Radio	WVHL 92.9 Kickin' Country FM
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodMBB

The Opening Tip
•    Lonwood returns home for its first game in Farmville since November.
•    The Lancers went 3-2 on the five-game road swing, and all three wins were true road wins.
•    Longwood's three-point shooting is among the best in the nation. The Lancers are 25th in the nation with a .394 three-point shooting percentage.
•    In addition, Longwood's bench has been one of the top units in the country. The Lancer bench averages 31.4 points per game, good for 21st in the nation.
•    Longwood's offense has four players averaging in double figures: Isaiah Wilkins (12.2), Leslie Nkereuwem (10.6), DeShaun Wade (10.3) and Walyn Napper (10.2). Five more players average at least six points per game.
•    Wilkins was named to the Watch List for the 2022-23 Lou Henson Award, which is given annually to the top mid-major player at the Division I level.

Last Time Out
•    Longwood earned its second straight road win and third of the season by taking down The Citadel 75-70.
•    The Lancers led throughout the contest until the Citadel took a late 68-65 lead.
•    Isaiah Wilkins hit a layup and DeShaun Wade sank two foul shots to give Longwood a 69-68 lead. Zac Watson blocked a shot by Madison Durr to preserve it, and the Lancers were perfect from the line in the final 30 seconds to preserve the win.
•    Wilkins led Longwood with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
•    Wade added 12 points, three rebounds and three assists. Jesper Granlund scored 10 points.
•    Longwood grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. The team had 10 offensive boards in the first half to offset shooting .375 from the floor.
 
By The Numbers
•    Longwood has won three true road games through non-conference play. The three road wins are tied for the most in the Big South.
•    The three true road wins are the most for the Lancers through non-conference play for the first time since joining the Big South. The Lancers did win three away from Farmville in 2018-19, but one was a neutral site contest.
•    Longwood's bench has been a big point of strength, with the Lancers ranking 21st in the nation with 31.4 bench points per game.
•    The Lancers have also been deadly from beyond the three-point line this season, with the team ranking 25th in three-point percentage in the nation. Longwood is shooting .394 from three, which is also second in the Big South.
•    Longwood is third in the Big South with 99 made three's on the season. The team averages 8.3 made three's per game.
•    Four players are shooting at least .375 from three for Longwood (among players attempting at least one three per game): Jaylani Darden (.533), Nate Lliteras (.475), DeShaun Wade (.471) and Jesper Granlund (.375).
•    The Lancers average 14.1 assists per game, the top mark in the Big South. The team has assisted on better than 50 percent of their baskets this season.
•    Longwood is second in the Big South in turnover margin at +2.4. The Lancers force 14.6 turnovers per game while averaging 12.2 themselves.
•    The Lancers also lead the league in assist/turnover ratio at 1.2. Longwood averages 14.1 assists per game to only 12.2 turnovers.
•    Longwood's defense has held opponents to a .421 shooting percentage, good for third in the Big South. The team has surrendered 68 points per game.
 
Quotable

"The story of this game is our execution focus. We didn't execute perfectly and at times didn't even execute well, but we have constantly been working with these guys to try to have a commitment to our standard. We've talked about that a lot, that you're not going to be perfect, but we want to have a commitment to the standard to try to execute. This was maybe the first game where I felt like, we probably put 30-35 minutes together where we really were trying to execute...I was extremely proud of these guys. I thought this team took a step forward in a material way with the win today."
—Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich on his team's mindset at The Citadel
 
Series History
•  This is the seventh meeting between the two teams. They have met twice on neutral courts, twice at S.C. State and twice in Farmville.
•  Longwood is 1-1 in Farmville against S.C. State. The last time the two teams played in Farmville was 2011.
•  S.C. State has won the last two meetings.
 
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