HPU Falls Short to Longwood at Home

Lancers continue their 11-game win streak in matchups against Panthers

By: Megan Hovey

HIGH POINT, N.C.-It was another game inside the Qubein Arena that left the High Point University men’s basketball team empty-handed.

The Longwood University Lancers (18-9, 10-4 Big South) narrowly slid by the Panthers (11-15, 3-11 Big South) 70-67 on Saturday. The Lancers have now won 11 games in a row against the Panthers, dating back to Feb. 27, 2018.

Longwood is now on a three-game winning streak while HPU is currently on a two-game losing stint.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina native Isaiah Wilkins was Longwood’s star of the night, turning in 21 points and four rebounds. He was 5-for-5 in free throw attempts. Zac Watson finished with 11 points and went 7-for-8 from the line. DeShaun Wade turned in a team-high seven rebounds.

On the other side of the bench, HPU’s Abdoulaye Thiam posted 17 points, five rebounds and was 4-for-6 from the line. Zack Austin turned in 15 points and Jaden House finished with 12. Ahmard Harvey and House both garnered seven rebounds. Bryson Childress made all four of his free throws and posted 10 points.

The Lancers outscored the Panthers in second-chance points (15-13) and points from the paint (32-24). HPU committed 16 turnovers while Longwood had seven.

The Panthers bested the Lancers in fast breaks (14-8), field goal percentage (41.2% to 37.3%) and 3-point percentage (34.8% to 20.8%).

The Lancers weren’t going to let free throws get away from them. The team went 21-for-25 while the Panthers went 17-for-24.

Despite an 82-66 loss to Campbell University on Feb. 8, HPU head coach G. G. Smith believed that his team’s confidence was high heading into the matchup with Longwood.

“I thought our guys had a really good feeling today,” he said. “I thought we had the right game plan and the right mindset. We just didn’t get it done.”

HELLISH AT THE HALF

Out of the Panthers’ 15 losses this season, 11 of those games had the Panthers in a deficit as they went into the locker room at halftime. Out of the four games that they led at the half, only one had more than a six-point lead (HPU led UNC Asheville by nine on Jan. 4). The Panthers led by three against UNLV on Nov. 18, by six against Queens University on Dec. 9 and by one against Gardner-Webb University on Dec. 31.

To combat these early-start woes, Smith says that he plans on holding his players to a higher standard.

“Well, obviously, we’ll just watch film,” he said. “...Sometimes it’s one individual (making) a mistake, sometimes it’s some guys in the wrong spots or a guy can’t make the right read. The only way I know how to get better is to keep practicing hard. Sometimes in practice, we have guys run for missed turnovers, or if they get more than five turnovers, you have to do something as a consequence. I think that’s the only way that you can do it.”

WINNING WITH WILKINS

Wilkins is leading the way for the Lancers, starting in 21 out of 26 games this season and pacing the team in points per game (12.7), field goal percentage (.465%) and rebounds (5.7). He’s currently 13th in the Big South Conference in scoring, 15th in steals and seventh in rebounds. Previously playing at Virginia Tech (2018-19, 2019-20) and Wake Forest (2020-21), the redshirt senior is looking to help bring Longwood to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history after winning the Big South Tournament last year. The Lancers are currently third in the Big South, one game behind Radford and two games behind UNC Asheville.

CHILDRESS FINDING HIS STRIDE

Childress appears to be riding a high after posting a career-high 20 points against Campbell on Feb. 8, going 5-for-10 outside the arc. During the matchup against Charleston Southern on Feb. 4, the Albermarle, North Carolina native posted nine points (all of which were 3-pointers). Childress is currently 18th in the Big South for 3-pointers. He was 4-for-4 from the line against Longwood.

He’s currently third in 3-point percentage for the Panthers at .360 (41-for-114). Only Austin (51-for-151) and Thiam (58-for-162) rank higher.

ON THE ROAD… AGAIN

Both teams are heading on the road to continue conference play on Feb. 15. The Panthers travel to Clinton, South Carolina to face off against Presbyterian College (5-22, 1-13 Big South) while the Lancers look to continue their three-game winning streak in Spartanburg, South Carolina against USC Upstate (12-13, 7-7 Big South). HPU beat Presbyterian 64-56 on Jan. 14 and Longwood topped USC Upstate 72-65 the same day. Both games are set to tip off at 7 p.m.