OPENING TIP
•   Less than 48 hours after playing a tight game on ESPNU, Longwood heads to UNC Asheville to open a two-game road swing on Saturday.
•   The Lancers will take on the preseason Big South favorite, and they it ends a stretch that has seen them play the top three teams in the Big South Preseason Poll in their first four games.
•   Longwood is one of 31 teams in the nation with four true road wins and a road record at .500 or better, and one of only two teams in the Big South to meet that criteria.
•   The Lancers are 4-4 on the road this season, with wins at Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State, Delaware State and Milwaukee.
•   Longwood's defense surrenders 62.9 points per game, the top mark in the Big South and 16th in the nation.
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LAST TIME OUT
•   A hot start lifted Radford past the Lancers on Thursday night, 69-58.
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Walyn Napper had 20 points, and
Szymon Zapala added 11, but the Radford duo of DaQuan Smith, who had 21 points, and Kenyon Giles, who had 20, kept the Lancers at bay.
•   Radford hit five of its first six shots and never trailed while building a 31-15 advantage midway through the first half.
•   The Lancers found purchase late in the half and trimmed the gap to 11 at the break with a 7-2 run.
•   Zapala powerd in five quick points in the second half, and
Elijah Tucker capped a 9-2 run to cut the Radford lead to 35-31.
•   Smith stemmed the tide with a layup, but Napper kept Longwood around with repeated basket attacks.
•   Giles hit a trio of step back triples that helped keep Longwood at bay late.
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BY THE NUMBERS
•   Longwood will play its ninth road game of the season.
•   The Lancers will play 15 games away from Farmville this year. The team played 16 road games a season ago.
•   The high water mark for true road games under Aldrich was in the 2019-20 season, when the Lancers played 17 true road games.
•   Longwood has the top scoring defense in the Big South by holding teams to a .401 shooting percentage, also the best mark in the Big South.
•   Five different players have led Longwood in scoring on the road this season.
Johnathan Massie has done so three times in eight road games.
•   Longwood's defense has been the stingiest in the Big South, holding opponents to a league-low 62.6 points per game, which is the 16th best mark in the nation.
•   Nineteen times, Longwood has held an opponent to fewer than 32 points in a half.
•   The Lancers lead the league in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a .401 shooting percentage from the floor that also ranks 44th in the nation.
•   Longwood also leads the Big South in turnovers forced per game, 14.7.
•   On offensive end, Longwood has pounded the glass, averaging a Big South best 13.7 offensive rebounds per game.
•   Longwood has won the battle on the glass 16 times in 18 games and is 12-4 when doing so.
•   Three Lancers rank in the top 15 in the Big South in offensive rebounding in
Szymon Zapala (2.3 per game, T-4th),
Michael Christmas (2.2, 7th) and
Elijah Tucker (1.7-15th).
•   Longwood pounds the ball inside and scores 41 points per game in the paint.
•   Longwood has had 10 games where four players scored in double figures, including three of the past four games. The season high was six players in double figures.
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SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Record vs. UNC Asheville                    5-17
Under Coach Aldrich                                              4-5
Current Streak                                                          L 2
First Meeting                                    L 65-62 12/9/1985
Last Meeting                                    L 76-66 2/25/2023
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•   UNC Asheville won both meetings in 2022-23 en route to winning the Big South.
•   Prior to that, Longwood won three straight against the Bulldogs.
•   In the first meeting last year, UNC Asheville won a tight game 54-46.
Michael Christmas had nine points in the game.
•   In the return game in Farmville, Asheville had 20 points from Fletcher Abee to win.
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