Longwood wins Big South for first NCAA Tournament bid
AP
Mar 06, 2022
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Isaiah Wilkins scored 19 points and Longwood Lancers advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time with a 79-58 victory over Winthrop Eagles on Sunday in the Big South tournament championship game.
Top-seeded Longwood (26-6) never trailed, led by as many as 21 in the first half, 28 in the second half and cruised against the second-seeded Eagles (23-9), a perennial Big South power who had won the last two conference tournament titles and hoped to win its 19th overall.
The two division champions came in on a roll. Winthrop had won its last 10 games, its previous loss coming to the Lancers 92-88 in the regular season. Longwood had won seven straight and was making its first conference tournament championship appearance. Winthrop beat the Lancers in the semifinals last year.
Wilkins, who spent two seasons at Virginia Tech and another at Wake Forest before coming to Longwood this season, was 7-of-11 shooting with three 3-pointers, eight rebounds and three steals. Leslie Nkereuwem added 11 points. Justin Hill had nine points with eight rebounds and five assists.
Big South player of the year D.J. Burns Jr. led Winthrop with 14 points. Micheal Anumba had 12 and Patrick Good 11.
The outcome was essentially decided in the first half when little went wrong for Longwood, shooting 60%, making 8 of 10 3-point attempts and scoring 22 points off 11 turnovers to lead 45-27. Wilkins led the way with 12 points. Five players hit from the arc including Nate Lliteras with three for his nine points.
A 13-0 run gave Longwood its largest lead of 28 during a stretch of the second half when Winthrop went seven minutes without a field goal. The closest Winthrop got after that was 16.
In the end, Longwood outshot Winthrop 53% to 41%, made 10 of 17 from the arc to 6 of 24 for the Eagles and scored 32 points off 19 turnovers that included 10 steals.
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1st Half
WINT
Eagles
27
LONG
Lancers
45
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
D.J. Burns Jr. vs. Zac Watson (Justin Hill gains possession)
19:34
Justin Hill misses two point jump shot
19:32
Cory Hightower defensive rebound
19:12
Cory Hightower misses three point jump shot
19:10
Isaiah Wilkins defensive rebound
18:58
Justin Hill misses two point jump shot
18:56
Drew Buggs defensive rebound
18:47
Drew Buggs turnover (bad pass)
18:32
+3
Jesper Granlund makes three point jump shot (Isaiah Wilkins assists)
0-3
18:03
D.J. Burns Jr. turnover (lost ball) (Zac Watson steals)
17:48
Zac Watson misses two point jump shot
17:46
Drew Buggs defensive rebound
17:40
+2
Drew Buggs makes two point layup
2-3
17:12
Jesper Granlund misses two point jump shot
17:10
DeShaun Wade offensive rebound
17:05
DeShaun Wade misses two point layup
17:03
Michael Anumba defensive rebound
16:38
D.J. Burns Jr. misses two point jump shot
16:36
Isaiah Wilkins defensive rebound
16:18
+2
Justin Hill makes two point jump shot
2-5
15:51
Drew Buggs misses three point jump shot
15:49
Isaiah Wilkins defensive rebound
15:37
Justin Hill turnover (bad pass)
15:37
TV timeout
15:15
Drew Buggs turnover (lost ball)
14:57
+2
Leslie Nkereuwem makes two point hook shot
2-7
14:44
Michael Anumba turnover (lost ball)
14:31
Nate Lliteras misses three point jump shot
14:29
Leslie Nkereuwem offensive rebound
14:17
+2
Jordan Perkins makes two point layup
2-9
14:04
DA Houston shooting foul (Michael Anumba draws the foul)
14:04
+1
Michael Anumba makes regular free throw 1 of 2
3-9
14:04
+1
Michael Anumba makes regular free throw 2 of 2
4-9
13:37
D.J. Burns Jr. shooting foul (Leslie Nkereuwem draws the foul)
13:37
Leslie Nkereuwem misses regular free throw 1 of 2
13:37
+1
Leslie Nkereuwem makes regular free throw 2 of 2
4-10
13:28
D.J. Burns Jr. misses two point jump shot
13:26
Isaiah Wilkins defensive rebound
13:11
+2
Jordan Perkins makes two point jump shot
4-12
12:53
Patrick Good misses three point jump shot
12:51
D.J. Burns Jr. offensive rebound
12:46
+2
D.J. Burns Jr. makes two point layup
6-12
12:27
Zac Watson misses two point jump shot
12:25
Sin'Cere McMahon defensive rebound
12:11
D.J. Burns Jr. turnover (traveling)
12:01
+2
Zac Watson makes two point jump shot
6-14
11:31
D.J. Burns Jr. misses two point jump shot
11:29
DeShaun Wade defensive rebound
11:09
+3
Isaiah Wilkins makes three point jump shot (Justin Hill assists)
6-17
11:06
Eagles 30 second timeout
11:06
TV timeout
10:46
DA Houston shooting foul (Michael Anumba draws the foul)
10:46
+1
Michael Anumba makes regular free throw 1 of 2
7-17
10:46
+1
Michael Anumba makes regular free throw 2 of 2
8-17
10:18
Jesper Granlund misses two point jump shot
10:16
Eagles defensive rebound
9:56
+2
Cory Hightower makes two point jump shot
10-17
9:35
Kelton Talford personal foul (Leslie Nkereuwem draws the foul)
9:26
Justin Hill turnover (lost ball) (Patrick Good steals)
9:20
Patrick Good misses three point jump shot
9:18
Justin Hill defensive rebound
9:12
Justin Hill turnover (lost ball) (Patrick Good steals)
9:02
Leslie Nkereuwem personal foul (Cory Hightower draws the foul)
8:43
Cory Hightower misses three point jump shot
8:41
Justin Hill defensive rebound
8:35
+3
Nate Lliteras makes three point jump shot (Justin Hill assists)
10-20
8:09
Cory Hightower turnover (lost ball) (Justin Hill steals)
7:59
+2
Justin Hill makes two point jump shot
10-22
7:39
Patrick Good misses three point jump shot
7:37
Justin Hill defensive rebound
7:31
+3
Justin Hill makes three point jump shot
10-25
7:31
Eagles 30 second timeout
7:31
TV timeout
7:03
D.J. Burns Jr. turnover (lost ball) (DeShaun Wade steals)
6:56
+2
Jordan Perkins makes two point layup (DeShaun Wade assists)
10-27
6:45
+2
Chase Claxton makes two point dunk (D.J. Burns Jr. assists)
12-27
6:24
Chase Claxton personal foul (Isaiah Wilkins draws the foul)
6:05
Justin Hill turnover (lost ball) (Michael Anumba steals)
5:51
Cory Hightower misses two point layup
5:49
Michael Anumba offensive rebound
5:40
+2
D.J. Burns Jr. makes two point layup
14-27
5:40
Leslie Nkereuwem shooting foul (D.J. Burns Jr. draws the foul)
5:40
D.J. Burns Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 1
5:40
Isaiah Wilkins defensive rebound
5:24
+2
Isaiah Wilkins makes two point layup
14-29
5:15
Michael Anumba misses three point pullup jump shot
5:13
Isaiah Wilkins defensive rebound
5:08
+2
Isaiah Wilkins makes two point layup
14-31
4:54
Michael Anumba turnover (lost ball) (Isaiah Wilkins steals)
4:47
+3
DeShaun Wade makes three point jump shot (Isaiah Wilkins assists)
14-34
4:23
D.J. Burns Jr. turnover (lost ball) (Isaiah Wilkins steals)
4:16
Isaiah Wilkins misses two point jump shot
4:14
Eagles defensive rebound
4:00
Drew Buggs misses two point jump shot
3:58
D.J. Burns Jr. offensive rebound
3:54
+2
D.J. Burns Jr. makes two point tip shot
16-34
3:41
+3
Nate Lliteras makes three point jump shot (Jesper Granlund assists)
16-37
3:25
Zac Watson personal foul (Michael Anumba draws the foul)
3:25
TV timeout
3:18
+3
Patrick Good makes three point pullup jump shot (Drew Buggs assists)
19-37
3:04
Justin Hill turnover (lost ball) (Drew Buggs steals)
2:53
D.J. Burns Jr. turnover (lost ball) (Justin Hill steals)
2:47
Patrick Good personal foul (Nate Lliteras draws the foul)
2:38
+3
Nate Lliteras makes three point jump shot (Justin Hill assists)
19-40
2:24
+3
Patrick Good makes three point jump shot (Drew Buggs assists)
22-40
1:56
Michael Anumba blocks Nate Lliteras's two point jump shot
1:54
Drew Buggs defensive rebound
1:51
+2
Drew Buggs makes two point layup
24-40
1:51
Jordan Perkins shooting foul (Drew Buggs draws the foul)
