BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The duo of Johan Nziemi and Elijah Tucker dominated the interior for Longwood men's basketball, and the Lancers (13-12, 5-5 Big South) earned the road win at Gardner-Webb on Wednesday.
 
The Lancers scored 52 points in the paint as the two combined for 36 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while guiding Longwood to an 86-66 win.
 
"We want to attack and put pressure on the rim, and it is important that they are a presence inside," said Longwood Head Coach Ronnie Thomas. "Even when Gardner-Webb went zone, the guards did a good job of finding the holes to play inside-out."
 
Nziemi had a career-best 20 points while going 8-12 from the interior, and Tucker added 16 points on an array of powerful finishes inside. The two went a combined 15-22 from the floor as Longwood shot better than 58 percent as a team.
 
Meanwhile, the Lancer defense held Gardner-Webb (3-21, 1-8 Big South) to 30 percent shooting from three and forced 18 turnovers that turned into 20 points the other direction.
 
Jamias Ferere led Gardner-Webb with 16 points, and DJ Jefferson and Colin Hawkins had 11 points apiece.
 
"Disciplined basketball," Thomas added about the key for the Lancers tonight. "We kept our focus on playing together and did a good job sharing the basketball. We finished the game with 11 turnovers which was a big emphasis for us coming in. I would love to get it down more, but it was a step in the right direction to be more disciplined on that end."
 
That discipline helped Longwood never trail. Nziemi and Tucker scored the first four points of the game, and Longwood quickly ballooned the lead to double digits five minutes in.
 
Tucker was a handful in the opening 20 minutes, where he scored 10 of his 16 points.
 
Gardner-Webb whittled the Lancer lead down and tied it up with 4:02 to go in the first half, but Nziemi and Tucker answered with four straight points to jumpstart a 13-4 run that closed the half. Jacoi Hutchinson capped it with an and-one with one second to go in the half for a 44-35 lead at the break. He finished with 15 points, seven boards and four assists on the evening.
 
After halftime, Longwood quickly grew the lead to double figures, but Gardner-Webb reeled the Lancers back in. However,
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs trimmed it to four with 8:38 to go, but Tucker hammered a dunk, Huchinson scored four straight, and Longwood led by 10 again.
 
Nziemi made sure it stayed that way and scored 12 of Longwood's final 16 points to seal the deal.
 
Emanuel Richards also had 12 points on the night for Longwood and was the fourth Lancer in double figures.
 
Longwood stays on the road with a trip to Winthrop on Saturday, February 7 at 2 p.m. The game will air on ESPN+.
 
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