The Opening Tip
• Longwood has now won 20 games for the first time in the program's Division I history, setting another milestone in a banner 2021-22 season.
• The last time the team won 20 or more games was in 2000-01, when the team went 23-8 and was ranked as high as 21st in the DII national poll while in the CVAC.
• The Lancers also clinched the Big South North Division crown, a program first, posted 12 conference wins, the most since joining the Big South in 2012-13, and reeled off an 11-game win streak earlier this year, the longest in the team's Division I era and longest since the 1993-94 season.
• Longwood has the top offense and a top three defense in the Big South this season as three players average in double figures.
• The Lancers are 14-1 in Willett Hall, surpassing the program's previous best for home wins in the Division I era set in 2008-09.
Last Time Out
• Longwood topped High Point 78-71 behind
Justin Hill's first career double-double on ESPNU on Thursday, Feb. 17.
• The Lancers used a 14-1 run over a five-and-a-half minute stretch in the latter half of the second half to pull away from High Point after the Panthers had clawed back into the game.
• Hill was one of four Lancers in double digits with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double that also saw him add five assists and three steals.
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Isaiah Wilkins added 17 points and hit a game-icing three with 37 seconds to play after High Point had trimmed Longwood's lead to five with less than a minute to go.
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DA Houston chipped in with a career-best 14 points, and
DeShaun Wade added 12.
• Jaden House had 20 points, including 16 in the second half, to lead High Point while John-Michael Wright added 18.
By The Numbers
• Longwood's offense has been one of the top outfits in the Big South sharing the basketball all season. The Lancers are tied for first in the league with 14.6 assists per game. Point guard
Justin Hill ranks third in the league in assists per game (4.0), and
Jordan Perkins is 11th (3.0)
• Longwood has totaled more assists than turnovers in 17 of 26 games this season. The team has had less than 10 turnovers in a game eight times.
• The team's 12.2 turnovers per game rank as the second-fewest in the Big South, and the team leads the Big South in turnover margin (+2.6).
• Longwood's bench is contributing 28.8 points per game, with 9.9 of those coming from
Leslie Nkereuwem. Nkereuwem is one of the top bench scorers in the Big South.
• The Lancers lead the Big South in scoring offense (76.9 points per game) and rank third in scoring defense (65.2 points allowed per game). Longwood leads the conference in scoring margin with an average of +11.7 points per game, which is 17th in the nation
• Longwood has excelled on its home court under fourth-year head coach
Griff Aldrich, amassing a 40-17 record in Willett Hall during his tenure. That includes an 14-1 mark this season, an 8-5 record in 2020-21, an 8-6 record in 2019-20 and a 10-5 mark in 2018-19.
• Longwood has only given up 65 points or more 13 times this season. The Lancers have held seven teams to 55 points or fewer.
• The Lancers' +6.8 rebounding margin ranks 20th nationally, while their 12.6 offensive rebounds per game lead the league and are 27th in the nation.
• Longwood's defense is second in the Big South in steals per game (8.0).
• The Lancers are third in the Big South in three-point field goal percentage (.362, 209-578).
Quotables
"From an execution standpoint, the will to win, these guys keep proving it. They keep showing it. They keep making plays down the stretch to extend the lead, maintain the lead and put the game away. As much as ball screen defense in the middle of the first half is a skill, so is resilience. So is the will to win. And maybe more than any team I've ever been associated with, this team has that in spades."
—Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich following his team's 78-71 win over High Point
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Series History
• Longwood won the first game of the home-and-home series back on Monday, Jan. 24 behind a balanced attack that saw nine players score with
Justin Hill posting a game-high 20 points.
Isaiah Wilkins added 13.
• The two teams split four meetings over the previous season-and-a-half.
• This game marks the 10th time the two teams have played in the past four seasons. In both 2018-19 and 2019-20, the two teams played three times in each year (twice in the regular season, once in the tournament).
#HorsePower
