THE OPENING TIP
• Longwood heads back out on the road with a trip to Morgan State, the team's fifth game in six away from home.
• The two teams play for the third straight season and fourth time in five seasons.
• The Lancers are in the midst of a stretch that sees them play seven of nine on the road, their longest road swing of the season.
• Longwood has had five players score in double figures four times this season, and the team is 3-1 in those games.
• The Lancers have five games remaining prior to the start of Big South play.
• Longwood was picked third in the Big South preseason poll, although two total points separated the third through fifth place teams.
• Longwood leads the Big South in free throw attempts and makes per game and ranks in the top 30 nationally in both categories.
LAST TIME OUT
• Longwood hosted Pfeiffer on Wednesday night following four straight on the road, winning 101-55.
• Five players scored in double figures for Longwood, with
Elijah Tucker tallying a team-best and career-high 24 points.
• Tucker had 18 of his 24 in the first half, and he finished the game with six dunks.
•
Emanuel Richards added 17 points, and
Jacoi Hutchinson pitched in 15 points.
• Alphonzo 'Fats' Billups tallied 14 points along with a career-best six assists, and
Redd Thompson Jr. posted 12 points and five assists.
• The Lancers never trailed and shot better than 60 percent from 65 percent from the floor on the night.
• Meanwhile, the Longwood defense, keyed by four blocks from
Elijah Kelly, held Pfeiffer to 34 percent shooting.
• Justin Gaten led Pfeiffer with 15 points while Doug Smith added 13 points.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Longwood will play four MEAC teams this season, with two home games and two road games. The team hosts UMES and Delaware State while traveling to Morgan State and North Carolina Central.
• The Lancers are 4-1 this season when outrebounding their opposition while going 1-4 when being outrebounded.
• Longwood has also outshot all but two opponents from the foul line on the season, and the team has shot at least 40 free throws in a game three times.
• When outshooting opponents at the foul line, Longwood is 5-3.
• The team ranks first in the Bit South in free throw attempts (27-28th nationally), makes (21-16th nationally) and percentage (.778-27th nationally).
• Five players are shooting at least 80 percent from the foul line while attempting at least 10 free throws:
Redd Thompson Jr. (.885),
Jacoi Hutchinson (.864),
Johan Nziemi (.850),
Elijah Jones (.850) and Alphonzo 'Fats' Billups (.813).
• Twice this season Longwood has had at least two players shoot 10 free throws in a game.
• The Lancers have forced at least 20 turnovers in a game four times and are 3-1 in such games.
• Longwood forced 16.6 turnovers per game, which is second in the league and 21st nationally, and the team is averaging 9.5 steals per game.
• Both Alphonzo 'Fats' Billups III and
Jacoi Hutchinson rank in the top 10 in the Big South in steals per game.
• Three players are averaging double figures for the Lancers, and eight players are scoring at least seven points per game.
•
Jacoi Hutchinson (13.4),
Johan Nziemi (12.4) and
Elijah Tucker (10.8) are the double-digit scorers.
• Since
Ronnie Thomas joined the staff at Longwood, the Lancers have posted 30 true road wins in the previous five seasons.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Record vs. Morgan State 4-2
Under Coach Thomas 0-0
Current Streak W 3
First Meeting W 75-73 on 2/3/2007
Last Meeting W 84-66 on 11/9/2024
• The two teams have met for each of the past two seasons, with Longwood winning both games.
• Last season, Longwood won 84-66 behind 19 points from
Michael Christmas and 13 from
KJ McClurg.
Jaylen Benard added 11.
• In 2023, Longwood outscored MSU 51-16 after halftime to win 88-54, behind an
Elijah Tucker 17-point, 11-rebound double-double.
STATS COMPARISON
LWU MSU
2025-26 Record 5-5 1-6
Conference 0-0 0-0
Points 77.1 73.9
Opp. Points 74.3 81.3
Scoring Margin +2.8 -7.4
Rebounds 37 33.1
Opp. Rebounds 33.3 36
Off. Rebounds 12.2 11.7
Opp. Off. Rebounds 10.2 10.7
Rebounding Margin +3.7 2.9
Field Goal Pct. .446 .431
Opp. Field Goal Pct .455 .492
3-Point Pct. .269 .286
Opp. 3-Point Pct. .344 .333
3-Point FGs 4.7 4.9
Opp. 3-Point FGs 9.4 7.6
Free Throw Pct. .778 .737
Opp. Free Throw Pct. .668 .691
Free Throws Made 21 17.6
Opp. Free Throws Made 12.3 18.9
Assists 12.2 12.7
Turnovers 14 11.6
Turnovers Forced 16.6 13.1
Turnover Margin +2.6 +1.6
Assist/Turnover Ratio 0.9 1.1
Steals 9.5 6
Blocked Shots 2.3 2.3
#GoWood #HorsePower