Since opening its doors in the fall of 2023, the Joan Perry Brock Center has seen its share of big moments, from graduations to sold-out concerts and basketball wins galore. Wednesday night, Longwood men's basketball added yet another to the growing list.
 
In a "prove yourself" matchup against one of the premier teams in Virginia's college basketball landscape, Longwood securely defeated Sun Belt preseason favorite James Madison 82-72 in front of a fiery home crowd of students, alumni and the Farmville community. 
 
As intended years ago when university officials first designed the modern yet intimate venue, the atmosphere in 'JPB' was electric. A sold-out crowd—many of which were early arrivals for the university's annual homecoming festivities this weekend—filled the venue's 3,000 seats. A "stripe-out" colored the arena in alternating sections of Longwood blue and white, and the Lancer faithful's collective screams, stomps and elation reached decibel levels that put the multi-use arena's acoustics to the test—which it passed, easily. 
 
Said Longwood's first-year head coach Ronnie Thomas, "The students brought us to life. Whenever JMU made a run, the students were there to pull us back to where we needed to be. Everyone cares so much and lifted us in those key moments."
 
On paper, it's a singular win for the Lancers, who are now 2-1 since Thomas was promoted from assistant coach to head coach this past spring. But in the context of Virginia's historically strong basketball scene, it reinforced a statement the two-time Big South champion Lancers have been making for the past seven years.
 
That statement? Some of the best basketball in Virginia is played right here in Farmville.
 
James Madison entered the game as the preseason favorite in the Sun Belt Conference, but they struggled to match what has become Longwood's signature brand of team and system-based basketball. No one Lancer stole the show; instead, five different players scored in double figures, Longwood won the rebounding battle 43-33, and a flurry of hustle points—a combined 25 from second-chance baskets and off turnovers—sealed the victory. 
 
"It starts with the guys," Thomas said. "We said in the huddle that this is where we start to trust each other, this is where we start to build. Sometimes that trust is knowing that when you make a play for the team, somebody else is going to make the next play. You don't have to make the play. Moments like tonight allow those guys to trust each other even more."
 
Those moments were plentiful, but none louder than when the final buzzer signaled a double-digit Lancer win over a legitimate in-state foe. It was Longwood's first triumph over James Madison since 2008 and echoed another signature win by Thomas' predecessor, Griff Aldrich, who in only his second game as the Lancers' head coach in 2018 engineered a stunning 63-58 road upset at Commonwealth rival Richmond. That win proved a sign of things to come, as Aldrich—who hired Thomas as an assistant coach in 2020—went on to lead the Lancers to their first two Big South Championships and NCAA Tournament berths in 2022 and 2024. 
 
Comparatively, that the scene for Thomas' first signature win came in Longwood's pristine new home venue in front of an invigorated—and objectively impactful—home crowd signals how far the Lancers have come since their fledging days at the Division I Level in the mid-2000s. 
 
"After being at Longwood and in Farmville, I never want to be in any other town because everyone here cares so much about it," Thomas said. "To our credit, we need to give [our fans] something to cheer about."
 
Thomas and his squad did exactly that Wednesday, and Lancer fans returned the favor—just as they have night in and night out since JPB opened its doors at the start of the 2023-24 season. With the win, the Lancers are now 27-7 overall and a staggering 17-1 against non-conference teams in the arena. 
 
"The crowd stayed with us every single moment, every shot," Thomas said. "They played every ball."
 
With JPB still echoing from Wednesday's victory, Lancer fans won't have to wait long until their next chance to see Longwood in action. This Saturday, the homestand continues during Longwood's homecoming and alumni weekend as the Lancers host Binghamton for a 3 p.m. matinee and the women's team, also owners of a spotless 2-0 record in JPB, host Bluefield Friday at 8 p.m.