WHERE TO WATCH
OPENING TIP
• Longwood hosts Radford on Thursday night or a national matchup on ESPNU.
• This Lancers are 3-2 on ESPNU over the past five seasons and 1-0 in Farmville.
• Longwood has hosted ESPNU once, with the Lancers winning 85-72 over USC Upstate in 2022.
• Last season, the Lancers played on ESPNU three times, but all three were on the road.
• Longwood's defense surrenders 62.6 points per game, the top mark in the Big South.
• In addition, Longwood leads the Big South in offensive rebounding at 13.7 offensive boards per game.
• Ten times this season, Longwood has had at least four players score in double figures in a game.
• Four players average double figures in scoring:
Walyn Napper (13.9 ppg),
Johnathan Massie (12.1),
Michael Christmas (11.5) and
Szymon Zapala (10.6).
LAST TIME OUT
• Longwood's defense and depth powered the Lancers past Charleston Southern in the team's Big South home opener on Saturday.
• Four Lancers scored in double figures, with
Michael Christmas leading the pack 15 points, but 10 players tallied points for Longwood in the game.
•
DA Houston and
Szymon Zapala added 13 points apiece, and
Walyn Napper chipped in 12.
• Taje' Kelly had 19 for Charleston Southern.
• Zapala got Longwood off to a great start and scored nine of the team's first 13 points.
• Napper hit a three that stretched the Lancer advantage to double digits, 20-10, midway through the first half.
• The Lancers answered every Charleston Southern run from that point on.
• Christmas powered in 13 of his 15 after halftime to prevent Charleston Southern from getting back into the game.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Longwood is unbeaten at home this season with a 9-0 record at the Joan Perry Brock Center.
• The Lancers are one of two teams in the Big South unbeaten at home heading into the third conference game of the season.
• Longwood has had a winning record at home in six straight seasons now, the longest stretch since the team accomplished the feat in seven straight seasons from 1991-1998.
• Six times this year, Longwood has held its opponent to fewer than 60 points.
• Longwood's defense has been the stingiest in the Big South, holding opponents to a league-low 62.6 points per game, which is the 16th best mark in the nation.
• Nineteen times, Longwood has held an opponent to fewer than 32 points in a half.
• The defense has held back-to-back opponents to below .400 percent shooting from the floor and below .200 shooting from three.
• The Lancers have also forced at least 15 turnovers in a game eight times this season.
• Longwood has served as one of the top rebounding outfits in the country, with a +11.4 rebounding margin that is eighth in the nation and second in the Big South.
• Longwood has won the battle on the glass 14 times in 16 games and is 12-3 when doing so.
• Longwood grabs 13.7 offensive rebounds per game, 25th best in the nation and first in the Big South.
• Offensively, Longwood pounds the paint and averages better than 40 points per game in the painted area.
•
Michael Christmas is second in the Big South and 64th nationally with four double-doubles.
• Longwood has had 10 games where four players scored in double figures, including each of the past three games. The season high was six players in double figures.
• The Lancers rank second in the Big South in attendance.
QUOTABLE
"I thought our approach was much better through the whole game. We had a few dips, but for the most part, I thought our guys were pretty locked in. I think it showed defensively. I didn't think they got many open looks. To hold a team to 30 percent shooting and 18 percent from three, it's a real credit to those guys competing on the defensive end."
—Longwood Head Coach Griff Aldrich after Charleston Southern
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Record vs. Radford 10-28
Under Coach Aldrich 3-6
Current Streak W 1
First Meeting L 130-59 (1976-77 season)
Last Meeting W 73-63 (2/18/2023)
• The two sides split the season series in the 2022-23 season with each winning at home.
• At Radford, the Highlanders won 63-59 in a tight, back-and-forth game. Among Lancer returners,
Michael Christmas and
DA Houston had nine points apiece.
• In the return game in Farmville, four Lancers hit double figures. Among returners,
DA Houston had seven points.
#GoWood #HorsePower