The Joan Perry Brock Center was packed once again on Saturday, January 20, to see Longwood play the Presbyterian Blue Hose. Both teams went into the game needing a win due to slow starts in conference play. In a wide-open Big South Conference, every win counts. Longwood showed what it takes in a crucial 80-70 win over Presbyterian.
After the heartbreaking loss to USC Upstate in the final moments of the game on January 17, Longwood returned home on Saturday to play the Blue Hose of Presbyterian College. The Lancers needed to find a spark to turn the results around. Longwood played with a blistering pace in the first few minutes. Following two made three-pointers by Freshman Point Guard Leo Nordberg, the Joan Perry Brock Center erupted. However, this lead would not last long, as Presbyterian stormed back to lead the game by as much as nine.
The energy seemed to be drained from the Joan Perry Brock Center with about eight minutes to go in the first half. Thankfully, this wouldn’t be the case for very long with the Lancers storming back to take a five-point lead at half. This was due to a massive run spearheaded by Walyn Napper and Szymon Zapala. The confidence was flowing and very easy to see going into the second half. Their 43 points going into half were the most the Lancers had scored in one half in conference play this season.
Longwood started the second half just like they closed out the first. Walyn Napper would begin to carry the load offensively and got plenty of attention from Presbyterian’s defense. Napper played 37 of a possible 40 minutes, and it was he and Zapala who led the scoring for Longwood with 17 points each. Napper broke his personal record of free throws made and free throw attempts in a game.
Despite a late scare in which Presbyterian had cut the lead to two, the Lancers were able to pull away with some clinical free-throw shooting. Zapala, the seven-foot Center, was drawing plenty of contact all game and it started to build into many foul shots late in the second half. This rapid increase in fouls led to Presbyterian having three players foul out. Longwood would seal the victory at the score of 80-70. Regarding the improvement from this game as opposed to the three losses prior, Zapala said, “Recently we put more focus on the execution part, and I think that showed today. Our flow and offensive rhythm was better.”
Everyone in the Joan Perry Brock Center seemed to understand the importance of picking up a win in this game. Jesper Granlund, a Senior Forward from Finland, said, “I think there’s a great sense of pride in playing back home…I feel like the home crowd always gives us energy.” Granlund, who has been a regular in every game this season, had eight points on Saturday.
Though the home crowd will always be on the Lancers’ side, it is never easy to drop three in a row. Three losses consecutively is not something that head coach Griff Aldrich has had to deal with much in his time at Longwood. Aldrich, who is in his sixth season at the helm of this program, said, “Our execution was better in the last three minutes and we really dug in on the defensive end. They took some tough shots and we got the rebound.” Regarding the recent losses before this game, Aldrich said, “It’s all about execution at the end of the game, and it’s been something we’ve been focused on the last few days after the [USC] Upstate loss.”
Despite the losing skid the Lancers had before the game, Longwood found the tools to play a full 40 minutes of quality basketball. It was a performance that brought hope to the players, fans and coaches alike. Longwood will look to use the winning momentum going against Gardner-Webb on Wednesday, January 24.
Longwood v. Presbyterian, Jan. 20, 2024