THE OPENING TIP
• Longwood plays its only home game in a four-game stretch that started on Thursday with Saturday's matchup against High Point. It is a Blackout in JPB, so fans are encouraged to wear black. The game is sponsored by Bank of Charlotte County
• The game against the Panthers marks the start of the second half of Big South play.
• Longwood is tied for fourth in the Big South standings with Presbyterian and UNC Asheville, and the Lancers are one game back of Radford in third.
• Winthrop and High Point are tied for first in the league standings, two games clear of third.
•
Elijah Tucker has posted four double-doubles in five games in Big South play, and he was selected as the Big South Player of the Week earlier this week.
• He is fourth in the Big South with five double-doubles on the season.
• Four Lancers are averaging double figures in scoring in Tucker,
Jacoi Hutchinson,
Johan Nziemi and
Redd Thompson Jr.
LAST TIME OUT
• Longwood had a late rally come up short in a defensive slugfest at USC Upstate on Thursday night.
•
Elijah Tucker led the Lancers with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and
Jacoi Hutchinson added 12 points, but USC Upstate received 37 points from Carmelo Adkins and Karmani Gregory to narrowly edge the Lancers 65-60.
• The score was tied at 21 at halftime as the two teams combined for 21 first-half turnovers.
• However, both offenses had more success in the second half.
• Upstate used an 18-8 run, fueled by four threes, to flip the game and take a nine-point lead.
• Longwood responded and tied the game at 60 with 58 seconds left on a
Jaylen Benard leaner in the lane, but Gregory answered with two tough buckets in the final 50 seconds for USC Upstate to win.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Longwood has played nine games this season decided by five points or less, with two games going to overtime. The Lancers are 4-5 in such games and 1-1 in OT.
• For the season, the Lancers are 9-2 at the Joan Perry Brock Center and 4-0 at home in Big South play.
• In eight Big South games, Longwood is tied for second in the league with High Point in field goal percentage at .476.
• The Lancers also have the third-best field goal percentage defense, holding teams to .445 shooting in eight games.
• Longwood is also third in the Big South in three-point field goal percentage (.348) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.335).
• The Lancers also are second in the Big South in rebounding margin (+3.5) in league action.
• On the season as a whole, Longwood is 10-6 when outrebounding its opposition.
• Longwood's defense has held three straight opponents to fewer than 25 points in the first half: Gardner-Webb (24), Charleston Southern (22), and USC Upstate (21).
• The Lancer defense has had back-to-back games with at least 10 steals, and the team is averaging 9.4 steals per game in eight league games, first in the Big South.
• The Lancers are second in the league in forced turnovers, forcing 14.3 turnovers per game.
•
Jacoi Hutchinson has scored in double figures a team-high 17 times.
•
Elijah Tucker is the team's leading scorer in Big South play, averaging 14.6 points per game in the last eight games.
• Tucker is also averaging 8.9 rebounds per game in league action, and he leads the conference in field goal percentage (.667) in that stretch.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Record vs. High Point 22-26
Under Coach Thomas 0-1
Current Streak L 2
First Meeting W 67-61 in 1984-85
Last Meeting L 83-72 on 2/13/2025
• The two sides split the season series last year, with each team winning on its own home floor.
• High Point also won the first meeting this season between the two teams 80-67.
• In that meeting,
Emanuel Richards led Longwood with 16 points, and
Redd Thompson Jr. added 15 off the bench.
• HPU led by two at the half before pulling away after halftime.
STATS COMPARISON
LWU HPU
2025-26 Record 12-11 19-4
Conference 4-4 7-1
Points 76.8 92.4
Opp. Points 72.7 70.7
Scoring Margin +4.1 +21.7
Rebounds 37 36.4
Opp. Rebounds 31.9 33.3
Off. Rebounds 11.9 11.6
Opp. Off. Rebounds 10 10.3
Rebounding Margin +5.1 +3
Field Goal Pct. .466 .507
Opp. Field Goal Pct .444 .432
3-Point Pct. .302 .369
Opp. 3-Point Pct. .323 .328
3-Point FGs 5.8 9.4
Opp. 3-Point FGs 8 7.6
Free Throw Pct. .754 .730
Opp. Free Throw Pct. .692 .703
Free Throws Made 17.5 20
Opp. Free Throws Made 14.3 13.9
Assists 13.1 17.3
Turnovers 14.2 9
Turnovers Forced 14.9 16.5
Turnover Margin +0.7 +7.6
Assist/Turnover Ratio 0.9 1.9
Steals 9.1 10.9
Blocked Shots 2.7 3.7
#GoWood #HorsePower
