Box Score
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Jeremy Atkinson scored 17 points, including the go ahead free throw with 35.3-seconds left, to lead UNC Asheville to a hard-fought 68-65 Big South Conference men's basketball victory against Longwood University on Saturday evening at Kimmel Arena in North Carolina. Junior captain
David Robinson|Chesterfield led the Lancers (3-16, 0-5 Big South) with a game-high 20 points, but the visitors missed a layup and two three-point field goal attempts in the final minute. The Bulldogs (9-10, 3-2 Big South), two-time defending Big South Champions, also got two free throws from Trent Meyer with 18.7-seconds remaining. Longwood will play its third consecutive game on the road (in six days) at North Division and nearby in-state rival Liberty University on Tuesday night, January 22, at the Vines Center in Lynchburg at 7 p.m.
Longwood fell behind early at Asheville, trailing 10-2 at 15:49 after six quick points from Keith Hornsby. The Lancers, however, responded with an 18-3 run to lead 20-13 at 10:17 behind 15 points by Robinson, who scored the first 12 points for LU. It was still a 25-17 lead at 7:57, as junior
Mark Parker|Clayton, North Carolina, connected on a three-pointer, off the bench, the fifth in the early going with Robinson making three at that point, and freshman
Michael Kessens|Nyon, Switzerland making the first of his collegiate career, as well. The Bulldogs answered with a 10-1 run to lead 27-26 at 6:09 with Atkinson scoring seven of the points, but Longwood battled back with seven-straight points to lead 33-27 at 4:23 after a layup by freshman
Lucas Woodhouse|Greenlawn, New York. Asheville, though, closed the half on a 13-6 run to lead 40-39 at the intermission. Robinson had 15 points at the break, while Hornsby had 10 first-half points.
Asheville, who won at St. John's (72-65) and only fell by two points at nationally-ranked North Carolina State (82-80) earlier this season, continued its momentum to begin the second half, increasing its run to 21-10 over the two periods to lead 48-43 at 17:23. Junior captain
Tristan Carey|Colonial Beach answered with back-to-back three-pointers and Longwood was within 50-49 at 15:41. The Bulldogs once again responded to the challenge, this time with a 10-4 run to take its largest lead of the second half at 60-53 with 10:11 left to play after consecutive dunks from D.J. Cunningham. The Lancers, however, would not go away and closed to within 62-60 at 5:09 on a three-pointer by Robinson, were within 64-62 at 4:00 after a layup from Kessens, and finally tied it at 64-64 with 2:07 to go on a jumper from Woodhouse. Atkinson made 1-2 free throws at 1:59, and Kessens made 1-2 free throws at 1:41, leaving it at 65-65. Following a defensive stop, Robinson missed a three-pointer with 51-seconds left, before Atkinson made 1-2 free throws at :35.3. Woodhouse missed a floater in the lane with 21-seconds to play, and Meyer made two free throws at :18.7. After timeouts by both teams, Carey got a good look from deep on the left wing in three-point territory that was off iron with two-seconds left and rebounded by the hosts as the clock expired.
“Another step closer today,” said 10th-year head coach Mike Gillian. “We played well throughout the course of the game and were right there tied with just over two minutes to go. An interesting thing happened at a timeout with three minutes left and us down by two, the guys on the team were saying 'the real game is just starting now, let's go!' It's a sign of us learning from past experience, and subsequently, we made all the right plays in the last three minutes. We got exactly the shots we wanted on each of our last five possessions, but didn't come out of those possessions with quite enough points to come out on top.”
Robinson led Longwood with his game-high 20 points, making 7-10 shots, including 4-6 three-pointers, and 2-2 free throws. Kessens added 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double for the Lancers. Carey finished with 13 points and five rebounds, while Woodhouse had a career-high and game-high 11 assists. LU shot 43.6% (24-55) from the field, including 39.1% (9-23) on three-pointers, and 61.5% (8-13) at the free throw line.
Atkinson led Asheville with his 17 points, adding a game-high 11 rebounds for his own double-double. Hornsby had 12 points for the Bulldogs. Will Weeks finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Asheville shot 42.9% (24-56) from the field, including 8.3% (1-12) on three-pointers, and 76.0% (19-25) at the line.
Longwood and Asheville were meeting for just the third time overall, and for the first time since playing two games during the 1985-86 season. The Bulldogs lead the series, 3-0.
Asheville will remain at home to host Coastal Carolina on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m.
Longwood played without starting freshman guard
Nik Brown|Ashburn, who did not make the trip to North Carolina after suffering a concussion at Radford on Jan. 16.
