OPENING TIP
•   Longwood hosts North Carolina Central on Saturday afternoon in the first of two scheduled meetings between the two teams 2023.
•   The Lancers will make the return trip to Durham on Wednesday, December 20 before taking a break for the holidays.
•   The Lancers are 1-0 within the Joan Perry Brock Center after going 54-20 in the previous five years under Head Coach
Griff Aldrich in Willett Hall.
•   Longwood has dominated the glass early in the season, winning the rebounding battle in all three games this season.
•   Three Lancers rank in the top 10 in the Big South in rebounding, with
Szymon Zapala (9.3 rebounds per game) tied for the league lead.
Johnathan Massie (7 rpg) and
Michael Christmas (7 rpg) are tied for seventh.
•   Four players are averaging double figures in scoring. Zapala leads the way at 15 points per game.
LAST TIME OUT
•   Longwood rebounded after a slow first half to stifle Maryland Eastern Shore on the road on Wednesday night en route to an 80-61 win.
•   Second half defense keyed the road win, which was the team's 31st true road win under Aldrich.
•   The Lancers nursed a four-point lead at the break, 36-32, before holding UMES to four made shots through the first 11 minutes of the second half.
•   That defensive effort after halftime also opened up an offense that was gummed up in the first half.
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Szymon Zapala and
Michael Christmas did heavy lifting in the opening 20 minutes, with Christmas posting nine of his 11 points in the first half. Zapala added eight of his 15 points in the frame as well.
•   After halftime,
Walyn Napper helped turbocharge the offense, as he scored eight of his 12 in the final 20 minutes and added seven assists on the night.
Jesper Granlund chipped in 12 points in the second half as well.
BY THE NUMBERS
•   The Lancers are one of the top offensive rebounding outfits in the nation through three games into the season.
•   Longwood has grabbed at least 14 offensive rebounds in each game this season.
•   The team's 19.7 offensive rebounds per game rank second in the nation behind only Eastern Kentucky. The mark leads the Big South.
•   The Lancers have grabbed better than 43 percent of their own misses.
•   Four players have grabbed at least six offensive boards through three games (
Szymon Zapala-16,
Michael Christmas-11,
Johnathan Massie-6,
Walyn Napper-6).
•   Zapala ranks fourth in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (5.3). He leads the Big South.
•   Thanks to the hustle, Longwood has scored 62 second-chance points, which represents 25 percent of the team's total points this season.
•   Longwood also ranks second in the Big South in turnover margin (+3.3), behind only USC Upstate.
•   The Lancers only turn it over 9.7 times per game, the best mark in the league and the 52nd best mark in the nation.
•   Longwood also is one of the best free throw shooting teams in the Big South. The team's .743 (52-70) percentage ranks second in the league, behind only Presbyterian.
•   At least four players have scored in double figures in each game for Longwood this season. The team had four or more players score in double figures 12 times a season ago.
•   Three players have had a double-double for Longwood through three games.
•   The Lancers sold out their home opener in their first game in the Joan Perry Brock Center, with 3,000 fans watching the first game there.
•   The Lancers have averaged 17.6 wins per year in five years under Aldrich. In the team's first 11 seasons as a Division I eligible program, the Lancers averaged 10 wins per season.
QUOTABLE
"We challenged them at halftime that they needed to increase their mental focus. I thought they did a really good job with that. It starts with Walyn Napper. I thought Walyn was really crisp. He got to the paint a ton. He was finding people for open looks constantly. He had double figures, but a lot of that started with what happened on the defensive end."
—Longwood Head Coach Griff Aldrich said after his team's 80-61 win at Maryland Eastern Shore.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Record vs. NCCUÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 5-2
Under Coach Aldrich                                              0-0
Current Streak                                                        1 W
First Meeting                                W 67-63 (12/2/1980)
Last Meeting                                W 83-69 (2/25/2010)
•   The two teams have not met since the tail end of the 2010 season. They played twice that season, with each winning at home.
•   Dana Smith led Longwood in their 83-69 win with 25 points and 12 rebounds, his 10th double-double that season. Kevin Swecker added 13 points, and Antwan Carter added a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double as well.
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#GoWood #HorsePower
