The Opening Tip
• Twice in 2022, Longwood has faced a five-game in 10-day stretch, and the Lancers are 9-1 in such games.
• The Lancers have accomplished multiple program firsts at the Division I level this season: clinching the Big South North Division, posting 13 conference wins, winning 21 games, winning 11 straight and going 15-1 at home.
• 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 sit atop the Big South standings with two games to play and a chance to clinch the top overall season. The team has already secured a first round bye in the conference tournament by virtue of their divisional title.
•
Isaiah Wilkins was named the Big South Player of the Week after helping Longwood go 3-0 last week while averaging 18.0 points per game.
Last Time Out
• Longwood topped Hampton 76-72 on Saturday night behind a career night from
Isaiah Wilkins.
• The win was Longwood's 15th home win this season, the team's most in its Division I history.
• Wilkins led the way with 25 points, four more than his prior career high, and
DeShaun Wade added 13 while
Justin Hill chipped in 11 points.
• Wilkins stormed out of the game with 14 points in the first half, but Hampton managed to take the lead with a late run in the first half that led to a 35-29 advantage which Longwood trimmed to one at the break.
• The Lancers rallied in the second half to take the lead, and Wilkins iced the game with a pair of free throws with less than a minute to play.
• Rio Haskett led Hampton with 21 points, Deuce Dean added 16 and Najee Garvin finished with 10 points.
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 18 of 27 games this season. The team has had less than 10 turnovers in a game eight times.
• The team's 12.1 turnovers per game rank as the second-fewest in the Big South, and the team leads the Big South in turnover margin (+2.5).
• Longwood has the most wins among all men's basketball teams in the Commonwealth (21). The men's and women's teams have combined for 37 wins this season, also best in the Commonwealth.
• The men's and women's teams have also combined for 26 wins in the 2022 calendar year, also tops in the Commonwealth.
• The Lancers lead the Big South in scoring offense (76.9 points per game) and rank third in scoring defense (65.4 points allowed per game). Longwood leads the conference in scoring margin with an average of +11.4 points per game, which is 19th in the nation
• Longwood has excelled on its home court under fourth-year head coach
Griff Aldrich, amassing a 41-17 record in Willett Hall during his tenure. That includes an 15-1 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.
• The Lancers' +6.8 rebounding margin ranks 18th nationally, while their 12.7 offensive rebounds per game lead the league and are 22nd in the nation.
• Longwood's defense is part of a three-way tie for first in the Big South in steals per game (8.0).
• The Lancers are third in the Big South in three-point field goal percentage .361.
Quotables
"I was proud of them. That shows an amazing amount of toughness and resilience, to be able to get through a gauntlet like that."
—Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich after a grueling stretch that saw the Lancers play five games in 10 days for a second time this season due to preious postponements due to COVID in opposing programs. The Lancers went 9-1 in those games.
Series History
• Longwood and Radford meet for the 36th time in an intra-state rivalry that dates back to the late 1970s.
• The Lancers snapped a 10-game losing streak with an overtime win at Radford on Jan. 12 earlier this year.
Justin Hill poured in 24 points, and
Isaiah Wilkins added 16 points and nine rebounds while
Leslie Nkereuwem had 11.
• In that win, Radford hit some difficult three's in the final minute to force overtime, but Longwood stormed out of the gate in the extra five minutes and pulled away, not allowing Radford to hit a shot for the first three-plus minutes.
• Longwood lost a pair of heartbreakers at Radford in the 2020-21 season.
#HorsePower
