FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood men's basketball took care of business to close out non-conference play, rolling to a 92-49 win over Averett on Sunday afternoon at the Joan Perry Brock Center.
 
Team basketball led the way for Longwood, with Longwood (8-7) recording 20 assists on 39 made shots. That helped the Lancers score 66 points in the paint and shoot a scorching 66 percent from the floor.
 
"Do everything together," said Longwood guard Redd Thompson, Jr. about the team's mindset on offense coming in. "When we do everything together, we are going to have more nights like this. So we just need to do everything together, and it will take us a long way."
 
Elijah Tucker had a team-best 15 points, and he was a perfect 6-6 from the floor as the Lancers never trailed while finishing with a winning record in non-conference play for a fifth-straight season.
 
Alphonzo Billups III and Thompson each chipped in 14 points, and Emanuel Richards added 10 points.
 
"I liked that we were sharing the basketball—sometimes even oversharing it," said Longwood Head Coach Ronnie Thomas. "I thought that there were some times where guys should have shot it because we created a great shot. But that's a great sign moving forward. We've been talking about it a lot. We've been fighting for it, trying to play like a team. I think they really showed that tonight, it is sort of catching on. And we have to just continue that that's going to be a big part of how we need to play and who we need to be."
 
All 11 players that played scored for Longwood, and the Lancer defense held Averett (7-3) to 25 percent shooting for the game and only six made shots in the first half.
 
"Grateful for Averett coming up and competing and playing," Thomas said of his team's non-conference finale. "They gave us a great look. Coach Doino's team plays really hard. So it was good to knock off the rust. So now, as Coach Marty would say, the bullets are live, and it's time to go play the Big South Conference."
 
Josh Seiler led Averett with 15 points, but 13 of those came in the second half. Timayahs Bracey added 11 points.
 
Longwood's defensive pressure early closed down Averett's airspace, and Tucker scored five of Longwood's first seven points for a quick 7-0 lead.
 
Jerome Williams hit a triple for a 14-4 lead a few minutes later, and the Lancers never looked back. The lead grew to 46-17 at the break, with the 17 points surrendered a season-low in a half for Longwood.
 
After halftime, Averett continued to scrap, but Longwood continued its pace on offense, shooting better than 70 percent (19-27) from the floor) in the final 20 minutes.
 
Longwood dives into Big South action when it welcomes Winthrop to the Joan Perry Brock Center on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. That begins a stretch that sees Longwood play Winthrop, High Point and UNC Asheville in back-to-back-to-back games to open the conference gauntlet.
 
"There are eight teams we have to play," Thomas said. "We have to play them all twice. It really doesn't matter who we play or when we play them. We know we have one game on Wednesday, and that game is at home. So we will get to sleep in our own beds, then we'll be here and play. It doesn't really matter who it is, you have to play them all. And you've got to play them all here and on the road at some point. We get Winthrop first, we'll focus on that, then we'll move on from there."
 
Tickets are available for Wednesday's game at www.longwoodlancers.com/tickets, and the game will air on ESPN+.
 
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