Longwood wins Big South, 2nd tourney in 3 years

Mar 10, 2024, 03:01 PM ET PEAK, N.C.– Michael Christmas scored 18 points, Walyn Napper approached triple-double territory, and fifth-seeded Longwood defeated No. 2 UNC Asheville 85-59 on Sunday to win the Big South conference tournament.The victory sends the

Lancers to the NCAA competition for the second time. They also qualified in 2022.

After scoring 42 points in the very first half, the Lancers kept it going after halftime. They pushed their result in 25 points within the first 4 minutes and led by at least 25 throughout the final 9 minutes. They shot 59.6% for the game, going 7 of 13 from 3-point distance and a solid 16 of 23 from the complimentary toss line.Editor’s Picks

1 Associated Napper had 10 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds for Longwood(21-13). Szymon Zapala had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Jesper Granlund and Johnathan Massie scored 11 points each.Drew Pember led

UNC Asheville (22-12) with 14 points.Longwood dominated the first half, shooting 60%and scoring 30 points in the paint on the way to a 42-24 halftime lead. Zapala scored 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting, and Napper had 6 assists. A 13-0 run caused a 22-6 advantage, and the Lancers led by at least 13 points for the remainder of the half.