NEW YORK – Longwood men's basketball ran into a buzz saw in the form of Columbia on Sunday afternoon.
The Lions (5-1) were lights-out from downtown, hitting eight of their first nine threes, to open up a double-digit lead early in the first half before breaking the team record of 16 triples in a game against a Division I opponent. Columbia hit 18 threes on the afternoon to win 95-70 and win their fourth straight.
In just the first half alone, Blair Thompson and Kenny Noland hit four threes apiece, one shy of their career highs, as Columbia went 11-18 from downtown in the opening 20 minutes. The duo combined to score 49 points, with Thompson tying a career high with 25 points off a career-best seven threes. Noland scored 24 thanks to a career-high six triples of his own.
Redd Thompson, Jr. led Longwood (3-3) with 13 points to lead three players in double figures for Longwood as the Lancers opened up a four-game road swing.
Elijah Jones and
Jacoi Hutchinson both finished with 10 points as well.
"We didn't play hard enough or together," said Longwood Head Coach
Ronnie Thomas. "We have to be about relentless effort and playing together on both ends. Defensively, that means helping the helpers and giving multiple efforts, and offensively, that means doing your job to create advantages and finding open teammates."
The matchup was all gas and no brakes early on. Both teams didn't miss much in the first half. The Lancers shot .586 (17-29) and put up 42 points, with Thompson going a perfect 4-4 from the floor for 10 points.
However, Columbia was even better.
Blair Thompson put up 16 first-half points, and Noland chipped in 14 as the Lions shot an even .600 (21-35) from the floor and .611 from three to take a 53-42 lead at the break.
After halftime, Longwood quickly knifed the lead to single digits with a 6-0 spurt keyed by defense.
Elijah Tucker capped the mini-run with a steal and lay-in to cut the lead to five at 53-48.
Noland banged a pair of threes in answer for Columbia in answer, and that kickstarted a 12-0 run for the home side that gave the Lions a double-digit lead again. The Lancers kept battling, but each run was answered by a triple to stifle any comeback efforts from Longwood.
"We will get back to playing harder, and the emphasis has to be on that for every possession with a high level of accountability," Thomas said.
The Lancers return to action at the Capital Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by American University, over Thanksgiving weekend. The team takes on Siena on Friday at 1 p.m. and Maine on Saturday at 1 p.m. Sunday, the Lancers take on the hosts, American, at 4 p.m. The final game of the series against American will air on ESPN+.
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