Longwood answered the bell with a dominant second-half defensive display in a 69-48 win over Bethune-Cookman on Sunday, the Lancers’ sixth straight victory that also kept them undefeated at the Joan Perry Brock Center.
The Lancers (6-1) only allowed Bethune-Cookman (3-4) to make five shots in the final 20 minutes, and the suffocating defense gave the team its best record through seven games since the program’s Division II days in 2000-2001.
It was a day where nothing came easy on the offensive end for a Longwood team that came in averaging nearly 80 points per game. Three players finished in double figures for Longwood, but seemingly every possession was contested as both teams played their third game in three days.
Instead, it was the defense that brought its hard hat and lunch pail to do the dirty work.
“I think these tournaments are so good because it really exposes a lot of our strengths and weaknesses,” Longwood coach Griff Aldrich said. “It also is really helpful for the guys. They hear the things you are telling them in practice, or you play one game, and sometimes they don’t believe you. But when they see it over and over, boom, boom, boom, boom, that’s really important.”
Johnathan Massie led Longwood with 18 points, and Walyn Napper, who delivered 13 points, and both were seemingly everywhere defensively. The duo racked up 10 steals, with seven coming after halftime. They repeatedly stepped into passing lanes and took the ball from Bethune-Cookman as part of an aggressive swarming defense that closed off every option.
DA Houston chipped in with 15 points, one shy of his career high, and he provided his trademark grit as well in a team-leading 30 minutes.
Longwood stays home for one more game before hitting the road, as the team hosts Newport News Apprentice School on Thursday, November 30 at 7 p.m. The match will air on ESPN+ and on WVHL 92.9 Kickin’ Country.
Tickets are still available for the game at www.longwoodlancers.com/tickets.
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Chris Graham
