FARMVILLE, Va. - Heroes come in all sizes, but on Homecoming Saturday in front of a sellout crowd at the Joan Perry Brock Center, they were certainly wearing Blue and White.
It would be hard to single out just one in Longwood's 80-75 overtime win over North Carolina Central because they littered the roster.
Sophomore forward
Lazar Milosevic made big play after big play in overtime, scoring seven points and assisting on another Lancer bucket.
Trailing by four with 2:20 remaining, Milosevic knocked down a 3-pointer and then scored on two-straight possessions in the post to give Longwood (2-1) a 78-75 lead that it would not relinquish.
He finished with a career-high 11 points, adding four rebounds and three assists after being held scoreless in 14 minutes at Saint Joseph's on Wednesday night.
"I've seen Lazard over the last month; he's really taken a big leap," head coach
Ronnie Thomas said. "He is so great when he finishes towards the rim and is aggressive. I think he showcased what he can do. He dragged us across the line offensively. I'm really proud and excited for him because that's who he is."
Needing a big play in the closing seconds of regulation, one of Longwood's senior leaders,
Jaylen Benard, donned the cape. The big 6-2 guard drove to the hoop, absorbed the contact, and finished. More importantly, he completed the old-fashioned 3-point play with a free throw to tie the game at 68 with just 10 seconds remaining. Benard just missed his third-straight double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Then there was sophomore guard
TJ Robinson, who Thomas said, "just dragged himself across the line when we weren't sure he was going to play tonight. One of the most unselfish things that happened today was TJ's performance."
Not feeling well over the last two days, Robinson gutted out 19 minutes off the bench and was one of four Lancers in double figures with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He consistently knifed through the lane in the second half, scoring eight of his points in the final 20 minutes.
Of course, the Lancers might not have been in the game without the efforts of fifth-year wing
Alphonzo Billups III, who scored 20 points, including 5-of-8 from 3, but more importantly, he demonstrated leadership when it was needed.
"I challenged Fats and asked him to do more because we had a few guys who didn't have it coming out of halftime," Thomas said. "He really brought the charge not even from a scoring standpoint, but he continued to fight for us to play the right way. When you have one of your better players, your preseason all-conference guy, that's begging everyone - we've got to play and move the ball, it says a lot about our team."
The raucous crowd reached a fever pitch late in the opening half, and it appeared as though the Lancers might roll to a Homecoming victory. Billups hit back-to-back triples to extend the lead to its largest at 35-21 with 4:11 left. For the second-straight game, Longwood connected on 11 3-pointers.
North Carolina Central (0-2) had other thoughts and wanted to play spoiler. The Eagles scored the final six points in the first half and first six of the second.
The visitor surged in front behind a 15-2 run thanks to the trio of Tyler Mason (6), Darius Kane (5), and Trey Brown (4). The latter made a pair of free throws to give NCCU its largest lead at 50-42 with 13 minutes remaining. The trio finished the game leading the Eagles in scoring with Kane holding game-high honors with 22, while Mason had 20 and Brown added 10.
Needing an answer, the Lancers found it in the OT hero Milosevic. The 6-10 big man scored four points during a 7-0 spurt, that included an
MJ Williams 3-pointer, to narrow the gap to 50-49.
From there, the capacity crowd of 3,017 was treated to a heavyweight fight as the lead changed hands four times with the score being tied twice prior to Benard's tying free throw with 10 seconds remaining.
Longwood finished the game shooing 46.8% from the floor to go along with those 11 3-pointers. The Lancers connected at a 78.6% clip (11-of-14) at the free throw line and outrebounded the Eagles, 40-37.
It was another stepping stone in a season loaded with potential for the Lancers.
"We learned a lot about our team and got to be in a moment of adversity and showed some resiliency," Thomas said.
The Lancers play at home for the third time in four contests on Tuesday night, hosting St. Mary's (Md.) at the Joan Perry Brock Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
