Fletcher Abee hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 52 seconds remaining, and The Citadel followed with two defensive stops to pull out a 91-89 victory over Longwood Saturday afternoon in Willett Hall.
The Lancers (1-6, 0-2 Big South) used a 12-3 run to take a 78-77 lead with 5:31 to play. The lead changed times nine times from there, with Longwood junior guard DeShaun Wade scoring six straight points to give the Lancers an 89-86 advantage at the 1:42 mark.
Bulldog point guard Tyler Moffe hit a spinning jumper in the paint to cut that lead to 89-88, and after an offensive foul by the Lancers on the next possession, Stephen Clark found Abee on the wing for the game-winning three-pointer that put The Citadel (6-0) ahead for good.
Longwood got two more shots at the basket, but Jesper Granlund’s layup fell short at the 35-second mark, and Justin Hill’s buzzer-beating coast-to-coast drive ended with his contested jumper hitting just off the side of the rim.
Abee finished with 16 points while playing all but 49 seconds of the game, while forward Hayden Brown amassed a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 5:52 to play.
Kaiden Rice also poured in 19 points for the Bulldogs.
Hill finished with a career-high 18 points, and sophomore forward Leslie Nkereuwem scored a career-high 20 in just under 13 minutes of action.
Longwood also got a big boost from the return of junior guard DeShaun Wade, who missed the first six games of the season with a knee injury, but made a 29-minute debut Saturday.
Wade finished with 14 points off the bench and made his presence felt in the game’s final three minutes, scoring six points and drawing a charge with six seconds remaining that set the Lancers up for a final game-saving possession.
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