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Saturday, July 5, 2025

MBB Insider: Team hopes altered offensive strategy boosts scoring entering pivotal stretch

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Redshirt junior guard Isaiah Walton

With January in the rear-view mirror, the Longwood men’s basketball team enters the final month of the regular season before heading into the Big South tournament in March.

The Lancers entered the new year with only three wins to their name, all against non-Division I opponents. After going 3-6 in the month of January, and currently on a four-game losing streak, they sit at eighth in the Big South conference with eight games remaining.

If Longwood holds their current position in the conference standings, they would host a first round Big South tournament game in Willett Hall.

The Lancers on multiple occasions have controlled parts of each of the last four games but couldn’t hold on to win. Head coach Jayson Gee has been satisfied by his team's effort to keep pace with high-level programs, but has concerns about them putting together a complete game performance.

“I’ve been pleased all year with the way they’ve come back with the difficulties we’ve faced this season,” Gee said. “Our team knows what they’re capable of doing, we just haven’t figured out the combination to get it done for 40 minutes.”

With the largest roster in program history, Gee said he centered the program around seven players, using deeper bench players sparingly.

Statistically, the Lancers rank last in the Big South in both scoring offense and scoring defense, averaging 64.8 points per game and allowing 75.2 points per game, putting them in last for scoring margin at -10.4 points.

These offensive and defensive woes caused Gee to alter a few strategies within their game plan in recent weeks as they begin to face conference teams for the second time.

In his “changing defenses” strategy, Gee shifted his focus to more man-to-man defense to limit opponents' high percentage of shot attempts.

On the offensive side, Gee said the team is trying to become more of a half-court offensive executing team, which is a scripted offense with set plays to open shot opportunities.

This offensive system has allowed players like redshirt senior guard B.K. Ashe to thrive when the ball is in his hands with the shot clock winding down.

“A lot of people when the shot clock runs down, especially defenders, they get nervous. I just feel at home at that time,” said Ashe. “When I see them get nervous and their legs all jittery, my eyes get big, and I hit big shots when I need to.”

The Mount St. Mary’s transfer is part of a prolific backcourt duo with teammate redshirt junior guard Isaiah Walton, who is second in the Big South at 17.5 points per game. 

Entering the home stretch of his final collegiate season, Ashe will lead the Lancers into a pivotal February schedule as the underdogs of the Big South.

“Every day we come into practice before every game, we feel like we will win and should win. We need to forget about the losses and the forget about the wins, and come in every game with a fresh mind ready to win,” he said.

Gee’s offensive and defensive strategies have changed throughout the course of the season as he finds new ways to adjust how his team is performing. Ultimately, he hopes these new systems are the formula to competing at a high level come March.

He said, “We had the first nine games to find ourselves and know who we are. Now that we do, our goal is to take it one day at a time, find a way to win the next one, and let the chips fall where they may.”

Redshirt junior guard Isaiah Walton


Sophomore forward Jashaun Smith


Redshirt junior guard Isaiah Walton 


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