The Longwood Lancers triumphed over the Morgan State Bears, 84-66, on Saturday on a historic afternoon with the unveiling of the Big South Championship and March Madness berth banners from last year’s memorable postseason run. Following an uninspiring showing in the season opener, Longwood used a second-half rally to get past their MEAC opponents on Homecoming and Alumni Weekend.
Fans packed the Joan Perry Brock Center for Saturday’s contest. The Lancers (2-0) failed to use the incredible atmosphere to fuel their start. They started sluggishly, as Morgan State had the lead for most of the first five minutes.
The crowd came alive after two 3-pointers from Longwood sophomore guard Jaylen Benard and another from graduate forward Michael Christmas. As the rest of the first half rolled on, it became more back and forth. Neither team pulled away from the opposition. Longwood held a slim lead going into the break, 36-32.
As the second half began, the Lancers appeared far more cohesive and in sync. After several strong runs led by Christmas, Benard, and junior guard KJ McClurg, the Lancers pulled away for good, preventing any Morgan State comeback in front of a sold-out, enthusiastic crowd.
Christmas led Longwood, scoring 19 points with five rebounds and two assists. He shared the scoring load with double-digit performances from McClurg, Benard, and senior point guard Kyrell Luc.
“Michael [Christmas] has been phenomenal this summer and this preseason. He’s been mature, he’s been confident, and we need that type of play from him,” said Lancers seventh-year head coach Griff Aldrich.
The Lancers improved drastically over their last performance, where they scraped out an 11-point victory against Division III Randolph College. A consistent strength for Longwood has been their knack for drawing shooting fouls at key moments, leading to a solid 25-for-33 performance from the free-throw line.
“I thought we did a really good job drawing fouls, particularly around the rim… We got into the bonus early and so that led to us scoring a lot [at] the free-throw line,” said Aldrich.
Despite the Lancers disappointing showing on Monday, they proved to be a much more together unit on Saturday against Morgan State. With nine new players on the roster, strong leadership has been essential in bringing the team together and building cohesion.
“Credits to coach Griff [Aldrich]. He had us watch film and wrap our heads around it. Leaders like Kyrell and Colby and the whole staff and bench honed together, and we [knew] we needed to fix it,” said Benard.
The fans also played a crucial role in the victory, as a sold-out crowd of over 3,200 energized the arena and cheered the Lancers to victory.
“[The atmosphere] was great,” said Benard. “Longwood has come a long way with the new arena being built, the new facilities, and it was great to have a good crowd and it helped us get a win.”
The Lancers are at home once again to take on the Milwaukee Panthers at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday on ESPN+. These two battled last year, with Longwood grabbing an 80-67 win in Wisconsin.
“We have to be ready to play, we need to have two really good days of practice leading up to the game. They are going to be one of the best teams in the Horizon League,” said Aldrich. “We’ll have our hands full with them but I think it will be a really exciting game and probably a game we’ll catch some people’s attention in the mid-major world.”
