Heartbreak At The Buzzer, San Diego Edges Shorthanded Lancers

By Press release submission

Dec 6, 2022

Despite missing two starters, Longwood men's basketball refused to quit on Monday night. DeShaun Wade keyed a second-half comeback, but San Diego's Jase Townsend hit a buzzer beater for three to take down the feisty Lancers 71-68.

Wade was sensational after halftime for Longwood (4-4), but he had help too. Four players scored in double figures in the absence of an ill Isaiah Wilkins, Longwood's leading scorer, and injured point guard DA Houston. Wade had 19 of his 22 points after halftime, while Walyn Napper added 16 points and four assists. Michael Christmas and Leslie Nkereuwem each chipped in 10, with Christmas adding eight rebounds.

"I'm extremely proud of the guys," said Longwood fifth-year Head Coach Griff Aldrich. "They really competed, obviously really shorthanded tonight. DeShaun played 37 minutes and Walyn played 36 minutes, and with the style and pace that we play with, to be able to do that is exceptional. I thought they represented us and the program really well."

With those four doing the scoring and everyone chipping in on the defensive end, Longwood scrapped and clawed back from an eight-point halftime deficit. Every time San Diego (5-3) tried to put the game away, Longwood had an answer.

Wade was deadly from the perimeter, and Napper slashed to the basket repeatedly. Meanwhile, Christmas and Nkereuwem feasted around the basket on good finds from Napper and Zac Watson.

"What I told the guys, it was a tale of two halves," Aldrich added. "In the first half, our execution was poor on the mental side. We made mistake after mistake. It didn't really look like our offense or defense. And for the first three minutes of the second half, San Diego came out and scored on the first three or four possessions.

"Then after that point, our guys really battled. They battled on every single possession and withstood a lot of tough adversity—both from fatigue and some challenges. They got themselves back in position to tie the game. It was beautiful execution on the last possession to get a three for DeShaun."

The Lancers slowly cut the lead from three possessions to two to one. With 15 seconds to play, the Lancers were down 68-65 with the ball. Napper sprinted up the court and found Wade in front of the Lancer bench for a game-tying three with five seconds to play.

However, Townsend had some heroics of his own. The senior guard raced up the floor and hit a contested three from the corner as time expired to win the game for the Toreros. He had 15 points, with 13 coming after a 5-5 shooting performance after halftime. Wayne McKinney III added 15 points, while Marcellus Earlington had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

"We say a lot to play with focus and effort and let the chips fall," Aldrich said. "Their guy made the shot, so we've got to live with it. The challenge for us is to be consistent. That last 16 minutes, that needs to be us for 40 minutes. We got a real glimpse tonight of how good this team can be."

Longwood will stay on the road this coming weekend amidst a five-game road swing. The Lancers head to Delaware State on Saturday, Dec. 3 for a 3 p.m. tip. The game will be aired on WVHL 92.9 Kickin' Country.