Though the university was closed for a snow day, the Joan Perry Brock Center was treated to a Longwood victory in Farmville, Virginia. Snapping their five-game skid, the Lancers shot 58% from the field to defeat Gardner-Webb 90-77 on Wednesday. It was the most points the Lancers scored against a Division I opponent all season.
With the Lancers (17-11, 6-7 Big South) struggling from deep in their losing run, they didn’t look like it early in the game. With 12 minutes elapsed, the Lancers were 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Gardner-Webb also started well, shooting 55% through 12 minutes. Hot shooting continued to be the story of the first half. Longwood led 41-34 at halftime, shooting 16 of 23 for 69.6%. Sophomore guard Colby Garland had 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the half, while Gardner-Webb’s Anthony Selden and Darryl Simmons II led the visitors with nine points.
Longwood raced out of the break with six straight points, which prompted a Gardner-Webb (10-16, 5-8 Big South) timeout. Following the stoppage, the Runnin’ Bulldogs began hitting shots, as their second-half field goal percentage was standing at just under 60% midway through the second half. Longwood’s ball movement was spectacular, allowing them to find the open man and consistently drain baskets to stretch its lead.
Longwood senior point guard Kyrell Luc finished with 16 points and 11 assists while graduate student Michael Christmas scored 18 points with seven rebounds. Selden led Gardner-Webb with 22 points.
“We came together over these last few games, and we wanted to play as a team, play together and play for each other,” Christmas said.
Longwood’s five-game losing streak began when they lost to Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, and now ends by taking them down in Farmville. The Lancers are still shorthanded, with Emanuel Richards, KJ McClurg and Johan Nziemi injured. The injuries led to backups, like senior forward Trey Hicks, playing plenty of minutes.
Hicks was key in the Lancers’ win, as he tied a career-high 10 points and claimed a career-high five rebounds and three blocks.
“Everybody played a role tonight. As long as we keep playing unselfish basketball, this train is going to keep rolling into the conference tournament,” Hicks said.
Hicks, a former walk-on, has been a Longwood player for four years, and has had injury issues since joining the program.
“Trey [Hicks] being able to play…that’s one of the highlights for me. He’s been a guy who has been unbelievably selfless throughout his career,” said Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich. “[Him] having to sit out last year for 99% of the season due to injury and being a great teammate, for him to get an opportunity [to play], Trey [Hicks] reflects a lot of the values that we really want.”
Longwood’s offense hadn’t scored more than 87 points in a game since the last time the two teams played in North Carolina. Following their road loss to Charleston Southern, the Lancers played three games, with the highest scoring output being just 72. In this game, Longwood made eight 3-pointers, equal to the past three games combined.
“We stuck to the game plan…[we’re] clicking better, and we’re finding out our rotations,” Luc said. “We have a lot of people hurt, so we have a lot of people stepping up, and it allows me to play the game and find my teammates the right way.”
This five-game losing streak was the longest in conference play under Aldrich in Longwood history, and the win also marked a fourth consecutive winning season with Aldrich at the helm.
“I’m really proud of our guys. I think to weather the storm that they have had to weather, that [performance] was really good,” Aldrich said. “If anything, this group is learning how to come together, and become more of a team. As a result you saw what happened tonight, 22 assists and the ball being shared a lot.”
Following its vital win, Longwood travels down to UNC Asheville to take on the Bulldogs in a rematch of the Big South Tournament final a year ago. The Lancers beat UNC Asheville 85-76 in Farmville on Jan. 8. The game will air on ESPN+ at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“Just do the same thing we did tonight, play as a team and play together,” Christmas said. “We know they’re a really good team, so we know we will have to battle and scrap for it. We have the guys for it since we beat them at home.”
