The seniors got off to a hot start for Gardner-Webb as Kareem Reid started the game with a dunk and Anthony Selden hit a Three. Nate Lilteras answered with a triple for Longwood as the visitors led, 7-5. A dunk by Leslie Nkereuwem increased the Longwood lead to 11-8. Ludovic Dufeal broke the run with a backdoor layup, but the Lancers pushed their lead to 20-12 after consecutive GWU turnovers.
More turnovers increased the deficit to 25-12 after a Houston three. Michael Christmas followed with another trey. DQ Nicholas beat the shot clock with a turnaround jumper and Dufeal followed with a dunk. Selden turned the same trick and by the time Quest Aldridge came off the bench to hit a three, Gardner-Webb had cut a 16-point deficit to 37-25 at halftime.
Nicholas opened the second half with a three, but Wilkins answered with one of his own. A Lucas Stieber putback made the tally 44-34. The teams traded baskets for a long stretch, but an old-fashioned 3-point play by Christmas increased the Longwood lead to 54-39 with 11:47 left in the contest. That lead ballooned to as much as 18 before an 11-2 Gardner-Webb run pulled the hosts to within 59-50 with 7:46 left. GWU got as close as six points, but Longwood was able to salt the contest away.
TOO MANY TURNOVERS: Gardner-Webb committed 14 turnovers (11 in the first half), leading to 10 Lancer points off of GWU miscues in the opening 20 minutes alone.
“You have to give Longwood credit,” head coach Tim Craft said. “They played really physical and we just didn’t handle it very well. We played hard, but we did not play smart tonight. We played better in the second half, but you just can’t spot a good team like Longwood a lead like that.”
WHEN YOU ARE HOT…: Longwood is playing good basketball at just the right time, winning five out of its last six contests.
“This team's playing really good basketball right now,” head coach Griff Aldrich told the Lancers’ official website following the contest. “We played a very good team in Gardner-Webb who will be a top-4 team in the league, and on the road from start to finish felt like we had the game somewhat under control. The exciting thing I told them is I didn't even think we played great. I thought we played well. But there's a whole other level we can get to.”
AND WHEN YOU ARE NOT…: Gardner-Webb, on the other hand, has dropped three straight contests after winning seven in a row.
“It’s concerning for sure,” Craft said. “Any loss is, but to have this happen right before the tournament is not good. To be fair, two of the three losses came to teams above us in the standings, but if we want to win the conference tournament, we are going to have to beat those teams. We have one more game at USC Upstate on Saturday to get this thing turned around.”
ONE MORE AT WILLETT: Longwood will play one more game at venerable Willett Hall before moving to a new arena next season.
“I think it's really special,” Aldrich said. “There's going to be a lot of people coming back who actually played there. To have that be the last game it's really exciting. I'm excited for those people to come back and see the number 1 (UNC Asheville) and number 2 (Longwood) in the league play each other.”
UP NEXT: Both teams will look to close the regular season on a high note. Gardner-Webb (15-14, 10-7 Big South) looks for the season sweep of USC Upstate in Spartanburg, while Longwood (20-10, 12-5 Big South) will face UNC Asheville in the aforementioned final game at Willett Hall. GWU tips off at 3 p.m. while tip in Farmville is set for 4:30. Both games will stream on ESPN+.
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