Longwood Defense Dominates Second Half In 75-49 Win At Delaware State

By Press release submission

Dec 14, 2022

A suffocating defensive effort powered Longwood men's basketball to its first road win of the season on Saturday afternoon. The Lancers pulled away to win 75-49.

Longwood (5-4) held Delaware State(1-7) scoreless for nearly nine minutes after halftime to turn a four-point lead into a 29-point advantage.

The defense forced seven turnovers over the 8:44 stretch, and it turned into offense on the other end of the court. Eight players scored in the 25-0 run for the Lancers as Longwood hit 9-11 shots in that stretch.

Over the full second half, the Lancer defense forced more turnovers (10) than shots made against it (7) in the final 20 minutes.

"The guys did a really good job defensively," said Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich. "On the defensive end, pretty much every time they scored in the first half, it was due to our lack of execution. In the second half, they did a much better job digging in and trying to execute our defensive principles. We started getting stops which gave us an opportunity to get out in transition."

DeShaun Wade spearheaded the lockdown defensive effort, and the graduate student keyed the Lancer attack. In the process, he scored his 1,000th career point. He finished the game with 22 points, two shy of his career high, and he added six rebounds and four assists.

"DeShaun has been playing with a lot of energy and a lot of passion," Aldrich said. "He's been our leader in that regard for years. This year is no different. He's starting to shoot the ball better. The biggest thing that I would say for DeShaun is, he's letting the game come to him a little more rather than forcing things. At San Diego, he had three points at halftime, but he didn't freak out. He kept playing the game and then had a burst [19 points after halftime]. Tonight, he had more of the explosion in the first half, but his overall play and energy have helped his offensive side."

Jesper Granlund chipped in 12 points, and Michael Christmas added 11 for his third straight game in double figures.

"Michael Christmas had an excellent game for us," Aldrich said. "Leslie Nkereuwem is out. Michael comes in and gets two offensive rebounds and putbacks that were very impactful in a position he hasn't really played for us. Michael was extremely important for us tonight—very selfless by defending, rebounding and scoring a little bit too."

In the first half, Wade was the only one who found a good rhythm early in a disjointed game. He poured in 15 points in the opening half and was the only player for either team in double figures.

Delaware State hit the opening shot of the game, but Longwood never trailed after taking the lead on a Jesper Granlund three less than three minutes in.

However, the Hornets were pesky and didn't allow Longwood to create separation. Longwood's largest lead was nine, but Delaware State hit back-to-back threes to cut the lead back to three.

The Lancers closed the half strong. The defense didn't allow Delaware State to score in the final 2:50, and the offense squeezed out four points to take a 38-31 lead into the half.

From that point, the Lancer defense owned the court.

Martez Robinson (12 points) and Aaron Lemon-Warren (11 points) led Delaware State in scoring.

"Right now, the guys need to focus on exams and finish the semester well," Aldrich said. "The first part of the week will be a little bit lighter and focus on ourselves on the court. At the same time, I think we'll try to hone who we are. Winning on the road isn't easy, I'm really proud of these guys for doing it. I thought the guys really showed maturity, which is what we've been looking for from them. I thought they came out and handled business, particularly in the second half.

Longwood heads back to Farmville for exam week before continuing on their five-game road swing. The team heads out to Wichita State next Saturday, December 10. Tip is set for 4 p.m. EST. The game will be on WVHL 92.9 Kickin' Country.