HIGH POINT, N.C. -- High Point had a 15-point second-half lead, the league's most high-powered lineup and a raucous, sold-out home crowd starting to celebrate the top-seeded Panthers' expected coronation in the Big South Tournament.

Longwood had Walyn Napper, an energized Szymon Zapala -- and a never-say-die toughness even when it looked nearly hopeless.

Victory to the Lancers – 80-79 in overtime over regular-season champion High Point, no doubt among the greatest wins in Longwood basketball history. Lancer players exited the floor celebrating wildly with the Stampede marching band, cheerleaders and traveling fans – while thousands of stunned High Point students and fans streamed gloomily for the exits of the Qubein Center after watching their team lose at home for only the second time all season.

Now it's to Sunday's Big South Hercules Tire championship game, with a conference title and berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament on the line. The Lancers play the winner of UNC-Asheville-Gardner Webb at noon Sunday on ESPN2.

"An incredible, gutsy effort by our guys," head coach Griff Aldrich said. "I thought, to do what these guys did in this environment is really a tremendous testament to their character. I'm thrilled we won the game. But I'm really thrilled with the resilience of these guys, their ability to continue to stay the course."

It was an epic comeback Lancer fans will never forget – ultimately decided by Longwood's team defense, Zapala and Elijah Tucker's physical play inside, and, once again, Napper's late-game cool.

Trailing by 15 points with just over 12 minutes left – and down 11 with just over six-and-a-half to go -- Longwood (20-13) was fighting a deafening home crowd on the supposedly "neutral" home floor of the Qubein Center.

But Napper's 3-pointer with 6:31 remaining sparked the Lancers on an offensive run that brought them all the way back. The senior cut the lead to 1 on a driving layup with 2:21 to go, then gave Longwood its first lead 69-67 on another trey with 1:19 remaining.

High Point forced overtime after a long Michael Christmas 3-pointer attempt missed at the buzzer for regulation. Longwood built a 4-point lead in the extra period on the strength of Zapala and Tucker's physical play in the paint. But it was the Panthers who held the lead with 30 seconds to go.

With 26 seconds left, Zapala banked in a long layup to put the Lancers ahead 77-76. As the Lancers buckled down to try win the game with a defensive stand, Napper reached out his hand to pick off a steal with 12 seconds left.

That led to two Jonathan Massie free throws that provided the final 80-79 margin – and set off the on-court celebration.

Zapala finished with 17 points, Napper scored 16 and Elijah Tucker had 13 for the Lancers, who secured their third-straight 20-win season – the first time that's happened at any level in school history.

In just seven days, Napper's hit a game-winning shot to beat High Point last Saturday in the regular-season finale, then played key roles in each of the Lancers' two wins in the tournament.

"As a kid you dream of moments like this," Napper said. "We just stick together no matter what comes our way, and we're just going to continue to keep fighting," Napper said. "We're in the championship game now and that's what we're going to do."

Now the Lancers have less than 24 hours to prepare for their shot at March Madness.

 "The team that you're watching now is not the team that you saw in January and parts of February," Aldrich said. "We're a really good team when we're locked in. I think we're seeing that right now."
 
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