Since 6-8, 255-pound Longwood center Lotanna Nwogbo went down with a torn thumb ligament on Jan. 10, the Lancers have struggled to find a way to fill his shoes. On Saturday night against Presbyterian, it was the shortest player on the floor who stepped into the big man’s size 17s.
Playing head and shoulders above his listed 5-10, 165-pound frame, Longwood point guard Leron Fisher matched a career high with 26 points to lead the Lancers (7-16, 3-7 Big South) past Presbyterian 71-67 at the Templeton Center. Fisher hit 8-of-12 shots from the field, 5-of-7 from three-point range and all five free throws to spearhead an offensive performance that saw the Lancers score 32 points in the paint and shoot 51.0 percent (25-of-49) from the field.
“The best thing about Leron is he plays with such courage and confidence and toughness,” Longwood head coach Jayson Gee said. “I really think that’s been a major part of why we’ve been competitive. He’s definitely been our best player.”
The 20-point effort was Fisher’s second in his past three games and gave him eight double-figure scoring games in 10 Big South contests. He added three assists and made just one turnover Saturday while hitting clutch baskets down the stretch to hold off Presbyterian’s late surge in front of their home crowd.
When Presbyterian guard Jordan Downing hit two free throws to cut Longwood’s lead to four points inside the final three minutes, it was Fisher who hit a three-pointer to push the lead back to three possessions. When Markus Terry hit a pair of free throws cut the lead to five at 1:36, it was Fisher who weaved through outstretched arms of three defenders and sank a layup to put Longwood back up by seven. When Downing knocked down a three-pointer with under a minute to pull the Blue Hose back within five, Fisher calmly drained two free throws to give Longwood a six-point cushion that was enough to cruise to the final whistle.
“We really needed this, not because it was our first road win or because it was a conference game, but because we’ve been spiraling,” Gee said. “I couldn’t be prouder of these guys. They fought hard. Leron was terrific. We knew Presbyterian was going to make a run, but these guys made plays when it counted.”
The win avenged a 71-67 loss to the Blue Hose on Jan. 10 in which the Lancers, playing without Nwogbo for the first time, allowed Presbyterian a 46-30 rebounding margin, 20 second-chance points and double-doubles to DeSean Murray and William Truss. But for all the adjustments Longwood had to make without Nwogbo’s 12.9 points and 8.2 rebounds from that game on, the playing field leveled Saturday when Presbyterian announced before the game that Truss, a 6-8, 265-pound senior center, would be unavailable due to post-concussion symptoms.
Truss outmuscled Longwood for 16 points and 11 rebounds in the first matchup of 2015, but without him on the floor Longwood held the rebounding margin to minus-four and outscored Presbyterian 32-28 in the paint. The Blue Hose’s scoring load fell to the 6-4 guard Downing, who poured in 28 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Longwood managed to offset that production with 14 points from Quincy Taylor, eight points from Ryan Badowski and 20 more from the bench.
“The defense was tenacious,” Gee said. “Leron Fisher was tremendous that way too. We came away with eight steals, and what people don’t realize is Presbyterian was super protective of the ball. They were so worried about our pressure – we only turned them over 10 times – but the mindset in how careful their guards were, I thought really dictated what we were able to do in the quarter court. Again, we’ve been playing that caliber of defense but we haven’t been able to rebound the ball. If they get plus-16 rebounds, we lose this one again so I think the whole key is rebounding.”
Longwood will have a much more difficult rebounding test next week when Gardner-Webb brings the league’s leading rebounder Jerome Hill to Willett Hall for a Tuesday matchup.
“Anytime you win, it’s a confidence builder and we’re really proud of this team tonight, but we have a big-time challenge with those big guys at Gardner-Webb,” Gee said. “Those two are freight trains, but we have to figure something out. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to step up and play some defense. The thing where they’re really good is they can make threes as well. What a great challenge, but remember, they’re in our house and we play pretty well at home.”
Longwood is 5-3 in Willett Hall this season with a pair of Big South wins over Radford and Liberty. Gardner-Webb enters the game after knocking off defending league champion Coastal Carolina 66-64 Saturday. The Runnin’ Bulldogs topped the Lancers 79-67 in the first meeting this season in Boiling Springs, N.C.
“We have to have a sixth man to win that game,” Gee said. “To have a shot at that game, we have to have a great crowd and they have to be into it. We’ll do our part, they do theirs. You come into Willett Hall and those students get on a roll, we’re a difficult, difficult out. I’m excited about that.”
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