FARMVILLE—Every heart in the sold-out Joan Perry Brock Center skipped a beat on Saturday, while all eyes were on the Colby Garland three-pointer floating through the air as the final buzzer sounded.
 
That it came up just short didn't stop the game from becoming an instant classic as the Lancers fell to the visiting Radford Highlanders, 71-69.
 
The feisty crowd of blue-and-white faithful never let up on their roars throughout the back-and-forth matchup, but became especially loud in the last thirty seconds. Trailing by 5, the dynamic duo of Colby Garland (23 points) and Angelo Brizzi (13 points) found enough magic to tie the game with eight ticks remaining on the clock.
 
An unreal mid-range jumper at the hands of Highlanders (16-10, 6-5 Big South) leading scorer Brandon Maclin put the visitors up by two and Garland's shot at the buzzer came up short.
 
"I am really proud of how we competed in the second half," said head coach Griff Aldrich, "but the game is forty minutes long, not twenty. We're going to have to fight to be a team that comes together. Great teams have players who lose themselves and play for the team, and we need to find that. I think we will. There's a lot of basketball left and I think we are close to being able to unlock it, and when we do, it'll be fun to watch."
 
The Lancers (16-9, 5-5 Big South), missing two scoring threats in forward Johan Nziemi and guard KJ McClurg, shot the ball well, scoring at a 50% clip from the floor and draining 5-10 three-pointers. But nine missed foul shots kept the Highlanders always just a score or two down. Guard Kyrell Luc had 12 points, while forward Michael Christmas battled foul trouble and scored just seven.
 
The Lancers will travel to North Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 13, to take on the High Point Panthers in a high-profile rematch of last year's conference champions and this season's pre-season favorites. The Lancers notched a thrilling victory in the first match of the year, 82-80, in Farmville. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 7 p.m.
 
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