FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood men's basketball needed a win, and the defense delivered. Saturday afternoon, the Lancers snuffed out any life from Campbell's offense to cruise to a 74-50 win.
 
The defense, which was powered in part by rowdy fans dressed in black for Back in Black night, put together one of its finest performances of the season to help Longwood (16-9, 8-4 Big South) sweep the season series with Campbell (10-14, 5-7 Big South).
 
The Lancers limited Campbell to .357 shooting (20-56) from the floor and a .174 (4-23) shooting percentage from three. Plus, the team forced 14 turnovers to help snap a three-game losing streak that was also the team's 10^th home win this season. This is the third time in five years the Lancers have won at least 10 home games under head coach Griff Aldrich.
 
"This goes back to the past 10 days, to be honest, but we've had a different team the past 10 days in our approach. In our practices, there's been a lot more purpose and passion," Aldrich said. "We didn't get the result we wanted against Winthrop, but you've now seen us put together two first halves that were pretty dominant. Up 17 both halves, and I attribute that to the fact that our guys are preparing themselves the right way."
 
On offense, Isaiah Wilkins and DA Houston scored in double figures, but the Lancers sprayed the ball all over the court to open shooters. The team had 17 assists on 29 made shots and shot .527 (29-55) from the floor. All 10 players that played scored, and every single player hit multiple shots.
 
"You had 10 guys play six-and-a-half minutes or more," said Aldrich. "Walyn played a ton in the second half but only played 27 minutes. DeShaun played 27 minutes. DA led us with 28 minutes. It's hard to stay locked in and focused if you are playing 34 minutes, and I thought being able to extend the bench really helped us."
 
Wilkins had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Houston added 11 points and his trademark shutdown defense. Walyn Napper stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds and a team-best six assists.
 
In the first half, Campbell found no daylight as Longwood's defense might as well have been a black hole. The Lancers tied a season low and surrendered only 18 points thanks to two big runs that spanned 13 minutes. Longwood forced more turnovers (nine) than made shots (eight) in the first half.
 
The Lancers ripped off a 13-2 run over a six-minute stretch early in the half by walling off the paint. They forced Campbell to go 1-8 from the floor and 0-6 from three. Meanwhile, the offense saw five Lancers score to take a 16-4 lead with 12:16 to play in the half.
 
Campbell responded and cut the lead to five, but then the Lancer defense snuffed out all hope. The team held Campbell to one made shot while forcing three turnovers over the final seven minutes of the half. The offense ripped off a 15-3 run to extend the lead to 35-18 at the break.
 
After halftime, the Lancers extended the lead to as much as 29 points to put the game to bed. Campbell rallied, but Longwood led by double digits for the rest of the game before a late run pushed the lead back to more than 20 points.
 
"We are going to enjoy this one," Aldrich said. "It's been a rough stretch. We've got another big one against Presbyterian on Wednesday. We barely won that one down in South Carolina. We have to come ready and prepared, so we will start that prep after we get a little bit of time off tomorrow."
 
The Lancers stay home to host Presbyterian on Wednesday night. Tip is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be aired on ESPN+ and on the radio on WVHL 92.9 Kickin' Country.
 
Tickets are on sale now for the Big South Tournament, which runs from March 1-5.
 
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