ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Longwood men's basketball battled at UNC Asheville while wrapping up a two-game road swing on Wednesday night, but an early hole, and too much Kameron Taylor, hurt the Lancers (9-9, 1-2 Big South) as Asheville (7-10, 1-2 Big South) won 72-61.
 
Taylor was dynamic, scoring a game-high 24 points to lead the Bulldogs, who were picked to finish second in the Big South in the preseason poll. He was one of four players in double figures for the home side. DJ Patrick was a sniper, scoring all 18 of his points on six threes, including critical second-half triples that kept the Lancers at bay.
 
Jaylen Benard and Emanuel Richards helped Longwood battle back from an early deficit. Richards led the Lancers with 14 points, and Benard added 10 off the bench as nine players scored for the Lancers (9-9, 1-2 Big South).

However, Asheville won the battle on the glass, and that was critical down the stretch to help the Bulldogs close the game out.

"We lost the rebounding battle by 13, and Asheville got 46 percent of their misses back," said Longwood Head Coach Ronnie Thomas. "Every other shot we got them to miss, they literally got the ball back. It is difficult to win in teh league, or any game for that matter, when we get punked on the glass in that manner."
 
Asheville got off to a quick start, taking an 11-3 lead by turning five turnovers into points the other way.
 
Benard ended the run with a triple as part of an excellent first-half where he helped keep Longwood in the game. The junior scored eight of his 10 points for the Lancers in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Asheville extended the lead to 30-15 with 7:20 to go in the half as shots simply refused to go down for the Lancers.
 
Finally, Longwood found purchase after an Elijah Tucker dunk and two free throws started a 10-3 Lancer run. Elijah Kelly, who tied a career high with seven points in the first half, capped it with a bucket to pull Longwood within eight, and Benard and Richards hit back-to-back triples to cut the lead to four.
 
Ultimately, the Lancers went into the half down only 37-32 despite shooting 32 percent from the floor.
 
After halftime, the Lancers quickly pulled within one possession multiple times, and a Redd Thompson triple knotted the game at 50 apiece with 10:48 to go.

However, the go-ahead bucket proved elusive, and Taylor and Patrick did the heavy lifting for Asheville down the stretch. Patrick hit four of his six triples after halftime.

"Credit to Asheville," Thomas added. "I thought Patrick could really open up the game, and I feel like he is the key to their team in how good they will be. We wanted to take away his three, and we ended up giving him 10 attempts, and he made six. We have to be better in our discipline to execute the small details, and that starts with me in helping our guys understand them better in order to execute them in the game."
 
Longwood returns home to host Presbyterian on Saturday. Tip is set for 3 p.m. at the Joan Perry Brock Center, and the game will air on ESPN+. It is Staff Appreciation Day at the JPB.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower