FARMVILLE, Va. -- Two 20-point scorers and a 52-point second half drove UNC Asheville to a runaway 88-74 win against Longwood Saturday afternoon at Kimmel Arena and kept the Bulldogs atop the Big South standings.
 
UNC Asheville (15-8, 8-3 Big South) entered the matchup tied for first place the conference alongside High Point and Winthrop and temporarily took a half-game lead thanks to 21 points from Ahmad Thomas and 20 from Dwayne Sutton. Thomas and Sutton both neared double-doubles with nine rebounds apiece as the Bulldogs outgunned the shorthanded Lancers (6-17, 2-8 Big South) in the second half.
 
"We just got overwhelmed by a very good basketball team," said Longwood head coach Jayson Gee. "We had a really big commitment on Dylan Smith, and I thought we did a decent job on him, but we let Thomas really hurt us around the basket. I thought we ran out of gas, too. We didn't have the strength to get over the hump in the second half."
 
During a second half in which they shot .567 (17-of-30) from the floor, UNC Asheville scored 52 points on 39 possessions and kept Longwood from scoring more than six unanswered points for the entire half.
 
Thomas scored 11 and Smith 10 during that stretch as UNC Asheville's lead ballooned to as many as 13 points before Longwood point guard Tra'Vaughn White cut it to eight with 10 points during a span of 4:23 leading to the eight-minute mark.
 
Longwood never got closer than eight points, however, as UNC Asheville capped the day scoring on four of their final five possessions.
 
 "I thought our guys in the last six minutes of the game were just completely gassed," Gee said. "We were just unable to defend the way we needed to defend to win this game."
 
Including Thomas and Sutton's combined 41 points, all five Bulldog starters scored in double figures, including 15 points from Sam Hughes and 10 from Kevin Vannatta.
 
That was enough to offset a pair of 19-point performances from White and fellow redshirt senior Lotanna Nwogbo, who added eight rebounds.
 
"I feel bad for Tra'Vaughn because we're constantly yelling at him to get the ball, and I know he's thinking, 'What more do you want me to do?'" Gee said. "He's playing defense, he's scoring, but if you notice in those times he defers, we're just not very good. That's where you miss [Shaquille Johnson], having another playmaker."
 
Playing without Johnson for the third straight game due to an ankle injury, four of Longwood's five starters scored in double figures and reserve guard Isaac Belton chipped in a season-high nine points. Khris Lane neared a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Kanayo Obi-Rapu added 13 points.
 
Johnson's status remains questionable, though Gee expressed optimism that he would be ready in time for Wednesday's matchup against Campbell. That game tips off at 7 p.m. and will give Longwood a chance for a season sweep after routing the Fighting Camels 74-57 on the road on Jan. 14.
 
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