FARMVILLE, Va. - The excitement of the college basketball season arrived in a big way at the Joan Perry Brock Center on Monday night to the tune of a Division I program record 123 points.
Longwood led from the jump thanks to an up-tempo style. The offense was balanced and efficient to go along with its speedy effectiveness in the Lancers' 123-67 opening-night win over Pfeiffer.
Seven different players scored in double figures and 11 tallied seven or more on the night. The Lancers erupted for 60 points in the first half and closed even stronger, shooting 70.3% and dropping 63 over the final 20 minutes.
Senior
Jaylen Benard led the way with his first career double-double, posting 14 points on 6-of-10 from the floor to go with 10 rebounds. Sophomore
MJ Williams scored all 12 of his points in the opening half on 5-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-3 form 3-point range, and added a strong floor game with five assists and three steals.
Freshmen
Elijah Thomas and
Will Dopfer both enjoyed strong debuts with 12 points apiece. Thomas shot 5-of-6 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from 3, in just eight minutes of action, while Dopfer was 6-of-9 from the floor. Fifth-year wing
Alphonzo Billups III, junior
Kany Musungay Tchanda, and sophomore
TJ Robinson tallied 10 points apiece.
Longwood broke the game open behind a pair of 11-0 runs in the first half. Dopfer and Billups III combined for final nine points of the initial run. A Billups III triple extended the lead to double digits for the first time at 11:51 mark, and back-to-back lay-ups from the pair extended the advantage to 26-12.
Williams hit consecutive 3-pointers, and freshman
Jorke Aav added a third straight from distance to spark the second 11-0 run. Billups III capped it with a lay-up pushing the margin to 37-14 with 8:52 left in the opening half.
In total, Longwood's extended run was 37-7 over an 11:28 stretch in the opening half. The Lancers used its tempo to limit Pfeiffer to 2-of-18 shooting and forced the visitors into nine turnovers.
Sophomore
Elijah Kelly brought the Lancer crowd to its feet. The Radford, Va., native threw down an alley-oop dunk from redshirt freshman
Abu Yarmah off a Lancer steal in the closing seconds of the half to send the home team to the locker room with a 38-point lead, 60-22.
Longwood did not let up in the final 20 minutes, scoring the first eight points of the half and shooting 26-fo-37 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from 3 to pour it on offensively. The final margin of 56 points of the largest of the game.
Offensively, the Lancers shot nearly 60% for the contest, hitting 52-of-87, including 11 3-pointers. Longwood dished out 23 assists compared to just 11 turnovers and turned 17 steals into 42 points off 27 Pfeiffer turnovers. The Lancers also scored an impressive 82 points in the paint.
Sophomore
Isaiah Kalala finished with nine points, while junior
Ben Wesson and Kelly tallied eight points apiece.
Up Next
The Lancers hit the road for the first time to take on Atlantic-10 foe Saint Joseph's on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Last season, the Hawks won 24 games and advanced to the NIT.
