ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Longwood basketball put up a gritty road effort on the road, but a seasoned St. Bonaventure squad narrowly edged the Lancers (0-1) 73-69 on opening night.
 
Neither side ever led by more than nine, and the game featured 11 ties and eight lead changes in a fasty, physical contest that provided Lancer nation plenty of flashes of a bright future this season despite the loss.
 
"I'm extremely proud of the guys," said Longwood Head Coach Griff Aldrich. "They really competed throughout the game. We out-rebounded them by 16 and had 21 offensive rebounds. Szymon had seven, Mike had five. We really competed at a very high level for 32 minutes of the game. So I'm extremely proud of what I saw tonight."

Szymon Zapala and Michael Christmas played the role of bash brothers on the interior, combining for 30 points and 22 rebounds. Zapala had a career high 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Christmas matched him with 11 rebounds to go with 10 points.

"Szymon, we challenged him to go out and be aggressive," Aldrich said of the Utah State transfer. "He is a very good player when he's aggressive. Obviously, tonight, he was extremely aggressive. Mike was incredible. You get an offensive rebound, and not only is it an important play, but it is an incredible dagger to the defense."

On the perimeter, Johnathan Massie and Walyn Napper poured in 37 combined points, with Massie notching a game-best 23 points. Napper added 14 while playing a whopping 37 minutes.

"John-John was really great," Aldrich said of the McNeese State transfer. "He shot the ball really well from three. He's still trying to figure out that balance of being aggressive and picking his times versus just going. He's going to continue to grow and get better."
 
However, a mix of timely plays and big second-half three's helped a Bonnies (1-0) team that was picked to finish third in the highly competitive Atlantic 10 fend off the feisty Lancers.
 
No play loomed bigger than Kyrell Luc's driving layup for St. Bonaventure with 1:37 to go. The junior broke a 67-67 tie with his only bucket of the game to put St. Bonaventure ahead for good.
 
The Lancers created multiple good looks, but the shots refused to drop, and the Bonnies hit free throws to keep the Lancers at bay in the final minute.

"We've got to understand and execute a lot better," said Aldrich. "I thought on the defensive end, we competed, but there were too many details we didn't execute well. Games like this are really valuable because every single one of those guys has a play that they would like to get back. And getting one or two plays back, maybe the outcome is different. This can be a great learning tool.

"This is a really eager team, but it is inexperienced. We'll get better. Lancer nation should be really excited about what they saw tonight. This is a team that, if they continue to keep building, we could be really good."
 
On a night when shots refused to drop, Longwood showcased its trademark grit by pounding the offensive glass with Zapala and Christmas and relentlessly attacking the rim with Massie and Napper. The Lancers snared 21 offensive rebounds, with Zapala snatching up seven and Christmas ripping down five more. Plus, Longwood scored a whopping 42 points in the paint.
 
The repeated forays into the paint kept Longwood in it as St. Bonaventure hit 11 three's thanks to 21 points from Charles Pride and 12 from Assa Essamvous.
 
The duo helped propel St. Bonaventure to a 55-46 lead with 10:48 to play, but the Lancers refused to fold. Instead, Longwood locked in and locked down to crawl back into the game.
 
The defense held St. Bonaventure to six points over the next six minutes, 33 seconds. On the other end, Massie slashed to the basket, Napper zoomed to the rim, Zapala went to work on the bock, and Christmas did the dirty work.

"Walyn didn't have the shooting night that he wanted to have, but Walyn played 37-and-a-half minutes, and you can't play that in our system," Aldrich said of his senior point guard as a team leader. "It is so, so hard. He was a warrior tonight, and—maybe most importantly—he led our team the entire time. It's an unbelievable joy to see the growth in that young man in just a year's time."
 
The grit and grind paid off, and Zapala capped the 16-6 run with a lay up for a 62-61 lead. His 20 points on the night doubled his career high, and it was his first collegiate double-double.
 
The two sides traded shots over the next few minutes, and Massie tied the game at 67 with 1:52 to play. That set the stage for Luc to hit his shot that put the Bonnies ahead for good.
 
The Lancers head home for their home opener at the new Joan Perry Brock Center on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available at www.longwoodlancers.com/tickets, and it is Homecoming for the Lancers as they host St. Mary's College of Maryland. The game will air on ESPN+.
 
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