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FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood center Lotanna Nwogbo won the battle of the best big men in the Big South. High Point won the game.

Despite a 21-point, 15-rebound double-double from the 6-8, 255-pound Nwogbo, High Point (17-9, 10-5 Big South) rode 26 points from Adam Weary to an 88-80 win over the Lancers Thursday evening in Willett Hall.
 
In a game that featured the conference's two leading post players going head-to-head in Nwogbo and Big South Preseason Player of the Year John Brown, it was the explosive second half from Weary that made the difference for High Point. Nwogbo and Brown provided their own mix of highlights and bruising post play, but Weary took over with 19 points in the second half to help pull away from a Lancer team that was within two points with 10 minutes to play.

"John Brown was a handful in a lot of ways, even though he got in foul trouble, but I thought Weary just had a game," said Longwood head coach Jayson Gee. "Slashing to the basket, his ability to get to the rim and get fouled…we just couldn't match up."
 
The senior Weary was a perfect 14-of-14 from the line as part of a 32-of-35 team free throw shooting effort for the Panthers. He hit 12 free shots of those after halftime and added four assists, two blocks and a steal as part of his seventh straight double-figure scoring game and first 20-point effort of the season. He gave High Point the lead twice in the second half and hit eight free throws in the final 2:07 to hold off a Longwood team that was within five points, 69-64, with four minutes to play.
 
Weary's 26 points were a game high and one of three double-figure scoring efforts for High Point, including Brown's hard-fought 18 that were the result of that 40-minute clash in the paint against Nwogbo.
 
Brown and Nwogbo, who entered the game both ranked in the Big South's top six in scoring, rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage, traded blows throughout the night. Nwogbo came out on top of the one-on-one matchup on the strength of his fifth straight double-double and Big South-leading 11th of the season, hitting 9-of-17 shots from the field with three blocks.
 
Nine of Nwogbo's boards came on the offensive glass and led to 15 of Longwood's 20 second-chance points. Nwogbo scored 11 of those himself.
 
"Lotanna's toughness really stood out tonight," Gee said. "He wasn't going to be denied. He wasn't coming off the floor. I was really impressed with how he carried himself tonight. He's playing great basketball, he really is. It's just a shame we can't support him better."
 
Brown countered his 45-pounds-heavier counterpart by hitting 5-of-6 field goals and 8-of-10 free throws. He added five rebounds and three assists as part of his 25th double-figure scoring effort in 26 games this season.
 
Brown's biggest impact on the game came during a one-and-a-half minute stretch midway through the second half when he scored seven straight High Point points to turn a 52-49 lead into a 59-52 lead with 9:04 to play. He hit a layup and a three-point play to give the Panthers a five-point lead that was their biggest of the half to that point and then slammed home an alley-oop from Haiishen McIntyre to extend the advantage to 59-52.
 
Longwood would battle back to trim the deficit to three points at 65-62 with 4:55 to play, but High Point cleaned up at the line by hitting their final 14 free throws to ice the game.
 
The High Point victory erased a career night for breakout junior guard Darrion Allen, whose 22 points and six three-pointers were both career highs. Allen hit a pair of threes inside the final 1:18, including a contested trey that cut High Point's lead to 86-80, but that bucket would be Longwood's last of the night.
 
"We played well enough to win, but we just let a couple things go down the stretch," Nwogbo said. "Out of 15 turnovers, we probably had four or five we could have controlled. We just shoot ourselves in the foot sometimes. We put together some nice runs, but it's not enough to win games. It's enough to stay competitive right now. We have to find ways to win."
 
Longwood has just one day to move on, as Big South foe Gardner-Webb awaits for Saturday's 7 p.m. matchup on ESPN3. The last meeting with the Runnin' Bulldogs came down to free throws at the buzzer, as Gardner-Webb snuck out a 67-66 win in Willett Hall.
 
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