Game 30: Longwood (19-10, 11-5 Big South) at Gardner-Webb (15-13, 10-6 Big South)
Date & Time	Thursday, Feb. 23 | 7 p.m.
Location	Boiling Springs, N.C. (Paul Porter Arena)
Game Notes	Longwood | Gardner-Webb | Big South
Statistics	Longwood | Gardner-Webb | Big South
Live Stats	GWU Live Stats
Video/TV	ESPNU/ESPN+
Radio	WVHL 92.9 Kickin' Country FM
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodMBB

The Opening Tip
•    Longwood heads out for its final road game of the regular season with a trip to Gardner-Webb.
•    The matchup features two of the top four teams in the Big South. The Lancers are tied for second, and Gardner-Webb is fourth in the league.
•    Longwood is in the midst of a three-game stretch that sees it playing the top of the Big South to close the season. The Lancers topped Radford 73-63 to tie the Highlanders for second, and they will play the league leaders in UNC Asheville in the final regular season game.
•    The Lancers are guaranteed to finish in the top four in the Big South for a third time in four seasons.
•    If Longwood wins out, it is guaranteed to finish second in the league. The team would have the tiebreaker with both Radford and Gardner-Webb.
•    Longwood's bench averages 28.4 points per game, 16th most in the nation.
 
Last Time Out
•    A balanced attack led Longwood past Radford 73-63 in the team's penultimate game in Willett Hall.
•    The Lancers never trailed, and the game was only tied at 0-0 before DA Houston hit a three to give Longwood a lead it would never relinquish.
•    Longwood stormed out after halftime with a 7-0 run to take a 43-30 advantage.
•    The Lancers extended the lead to 17 with 9:22 to play on a jumper by Houston in the paint.
•    Radford trimmed the lead to seven, but Longwood had the answer every time and never allowed the Highlanders to get within two possessions.
•    Four players scored in double figures for Longwood, with Isaiah Wilkins scoring a team-best 16 points.
•    DeShaun Wade added 15 points and hit four threes for a second straight game. Leslie Nkereuwem had 11 points and Zac Watson added 10.
 
By The Numbers
•    Longwood has locked in a top four spot in the Big South, and the team can finish as high as second if it wins out.
•    The Lancers are one win away from posting back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time in program history.
•    Longwood has been selected for the Big South Wildcard game on ESPNU three times this season. It is the first time the team has been in the ESPNU spotlight three times in one year.
•    The Longwood bench has been one of the top reserve units in the nation. The Lancer bench averages 28.4 points per game, which is 16th in the nation.
•    The Lancers lead the Big South in turnover margin (+2.6). That mark is 42nd in the nation.
•    The Lancer defense is second in Big South in turnovers forced per game (14.5), right behind Gardner-Webb, the league leader.
•    Meanwhile, the Lancer offensive only turns it over 11.9 times per game, the second-best mark in the Big South.
•    The team has won the turnover battle 18 times this year. The team is 13-5 in those games.
•    Longwood's defense only surrenders 65.5 points per game, the third-best mark in the Big South and 60th in the nation.
•    The Lancers have also outrebounded their opponents on the season and lead the Big South in rebounding margin (+3.7). 
•    Longwood has outrebounded its opponent in 14 of its past 19 games. The team is 11-3 in that stretch when winning the rebounding battle.
•    Isaiah Wilkins leads Longwood in scoring at 12.7 points per game, and Walyn Napper averages 10 points per game. Eight players average at least 6.0 points per game.
•    Wilkins was named the Big South Player of the Week after leading Longwood to wins over Presbyterian and High Point. 
•    The Lancers are 7-8 on the road and 12-2 at home this season.
•    This coming Saturday will mark the final basketball game in Willett Hall. Willett has served as the home of the Lancers for the past 43 years.
 
Quotable

"There's a great level of energy. I think about where we were, four or five years ago. Now we're getting defense chants, the community side is packed, the students are here. It's just a lot of fun. Hopefully a lot of fun for fans, too. When you see a group play the way they did tonight, that's not a hard group to cheer for."
—Longwood Head Coach Griff Aldrich on the atmosphere of Willett Hall and the sold out crowd responding to the team's effort against Radford.
     
•  Longwood won the first meeting between the two teams this year, 64-59 in Farmville.
•  The Lancers used a huge second-half rally to come back and win, shooting .517 (15-29) from the floor after halftime.
•  Walyn Napper had a team-best 17 points to go with four rebounds and four assists.
•  Jesper Granlund added 10 points, and all nine Lancers that played scored.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower