Conway, S.C.– Longwood is the first true No. 9 seed to win a game in the Big South Conference Tournament. The Lancers defeated No. 8 Presbyterian to advance to the second round of the Big South Conference Tournament, 65-61.
“There’s a new Longwood in town,” Gee said after the win, mentioning the team’s last place pre-season ranking. “It definitely wasn’t coaching—when you’ve got Quincy Taylor, when you’ve got Shaq Johnson…it makes a big difference.”
Junior guard/forward Shaquille Johnson was selected as the Hardee’s Star of the Game after scoring a team leading 25 points on 7-for-17 (.412) shooting. Johnson went 11-for-14 (.786) from the free throw line, and corralled 11 rebounds.
“I was just playing hard, like we always do and that’s all. Just playing hard—wanted to win,” Johnson said. “Crashing the boards; I feel like I got most of my points off of the offensive rebounds and getting to the basket.”
The game was evenly matched throughout as neither team truly ran away from the other. Longwood went 21-for-53 (.396) from the field, 9-for-21 (.429) from beyond the arc and 14-for-18 (.778) from the charity stripe; Presbyterian went 17-for-50 (.340) from the field, 8-for-20 (.400) from three and 19-for-26 (.731) from the free throw line.
Presbyterian out-rebounded the Lancers 38-33, but Longwood still scored more second chance points, 13-7. Both teams forced 15 turnovers— the Blue Hose scored 20 points off those turnovers to Longwood’s 13.
Presbyterian’s one-two punch of Big South Freshman of the Year forward DeSean Murray, and Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention senior guard Jordan Downing both had forgettable shooting games. Murray had a better first half as he scored 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field, while Downing went 2-for-9 from the field for eight points. In the second half both put up eight shots, Murray made three to Downing’s one.
Taylor credits Gee’s game plan going in. “We wanted to limit his touches and force him to shoot tough shots,” the redshirt senior Captain said. “He hits tough shots but we wanted all his shots to be tough.”
For the first time since playing Charleston Southern on Feb. 14 Longwood outscored their opponent in the second half, 34-26.
“Just really proud of our ball team, I really believe that they just weren’t going to be denied,” said Gee. “(Quincy Taylor and Shaquille Johnson) just made up their mind that they weren’t going to let us lose today. Every game in tournament is gonna be tough and hard fought.”
The Lancers will face No. 1 seed Charleston Southern University Friday, March 6 at noon in what Gee says is a “monumental opportunity” for his team.