It was a long-awaited and much-anticipated moment for Longwood men's basketball, and it seemed as if it would take for- ever to arrive.
But on Saturday, it did. Longwood took down Winthrop on the road 62-56 over the weekend, and in doing so, exorcised several demons that were preying on the minds of everyone associated with the program:
A 14-game losing streak, the longest since 2005. No conference wins in 10 tries in their first year in the Big South. No wins since mid-December, and no Di- vision I wins since the day after Thanksgiving.
Defensively, the team ranked last in the nation heading into Saturday. Winthrop's offense didn't pose the biggest threat of the season for LU going into the contest, but it didn't mat- ter anyway, as the Eagles were held to 27 points in the first half and 29 in the second. Freshman Michael Kessens had a team- high 15 points for the Lancers (4-21, 1-10 Big South), followed by junior David Robinson and redshirt sophomore Jeylani Dub- lin with 13 each and junior TT Carey with 12. 10th-year Head Coach Mike Gillian said after the game on WVHL that “There are so many things that you want to say ... [The players] deserve all the credit. I don't think they sensed that [we were close to winning] until we took that time- out with six seconds left," and that the feeling was "like win- ning a championship." An audi- bly relieved Gillian added, “That scene in the locker room belongs to them. They earned it and will experience it many more times in their collegiate careers.”
The key to victory proved to be with 6:07 to play when freshman Lucas Woodhouse kicked to Carey, who was located at the right elbow just beyond the three- point line. Carey knocked down the trey to give them their second seven-point lead on the day. Longwood’s lead dwindled to just one, twice late in the game; clutch free throws by Dublin, and then Carey sealed the program’s first conference win since they were in the Division II Carolinas- Virginia Athletic Conference in 2002-03.
Before the Winthrop victory, however, Longwood took an embarrassing 93-60 home defeat against VMI last Wednesday at Willett Hall. Big South preseason Player of the Year Stan Okoye paced all players with 27 points, and DJ Covington added 25 of his own. Brian Brown also had 15 points, and Rodney Glasgow tallied 11 assists as the Keydets seemingly scored at will on the shorthanded Lancers. Carey had a team-high 13 points for the Lancers and was one of three Longwood players to score in double figures as Robinson had 12 and Kessens had 11.
With a win behind them, the team will host their final three home games of the season this week as the regular season begins to wind down. First, LU hosts High Point tonight at 7:00 p.m. in the so-called “Beach Night” promotion, where fans are encouraged to wear their best beach-themed attire. Longwood fell at High Point (13-10, 8-3 Big South) 88-60 back on Jan. 30. On Saturday, they host in-state rival Radford at 2:00 p.m. for Reunion Day, where former LU men’s basketball student-athletes will return to campus to see the Lanc- ers take on the Highlanders (11- 14, 5-6 Big South). Also, there will be a giveaway of Jerome Kersey bobbleheads. Kersey played for Longwood from 1980-84 before receiving his degree in 2006. He went on to have a 17-year career in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers, among other teams. Senior Day is next Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. against Liberty (8-17, 4-7 Big South), where senior Ste- phen Shockley will be honored for four years of service on the team. Shockley is in his first year on scholarship; he was a walk-on from 2009-12.
No. 12 TT Carey slam dunks the ball against the VMI Keydets on Greek Night.
