The Overtime Report: Lancers Can’t Respond
The Longwood Lancers men’s basketball team lost its fifth straight Big South Conference game inside Willett Hall on Saturday. The hot shooting High Point Panthers kept knocking down shots in the first half and the home team Lancers couldn’t claw back into it during the second as they fell 85–59.
From my perspective, the Lancers seemed loose during the pregame shoot around. I honestly thought that was a good thing and the Lancers seemed to play with solid energy all throughout the first half. However, the calm and collected demeanor might not be a good thing for the Lancers squad considering High Point shot the ball very well in the opening 20 minutes. The Panthers went 17–28 (60.7%) from the field and to add fuel to the fire, they were lights out from three point land shooting 7–12 for a 58% clip. Longwood seemed to have lots of defensive breakdowns as evidenced by too many open looks for the Panthers. The visiting team’s 49 first half points took the crowd out of the game and had the Lancers going into halftime with a 21 point deficit.
Although High Point scored just 36 second half points, the flow of the half was the same as the first. Longwood simply couldn’t respond when High Point made a play. I have multiple reasons for that. First, the Panthers started on a 7–0 run and that really seemed to be the knockout blow. Coach Jayson Gee performed an NHL-style line change and benched all of the second half starters. It seemed to help in the short term but High Point’s talent level shined bright and Coach Gee reinserted his starters. Secondly, I really believe that these awful Big South referees eliminated any possibility of the Lancers making this game respectable. It seemed like any run that the Lancers made was brake-checked by some ticky tack (and several times, phantom) whistle. I really don’t mean to be harsh or personal, but I’ve seen better officiating in a high school gym.
The Lancers didn’t play great defense, but it wasn’t like they were playing sloppy defense and committing dumb fouls. They never really lost their composure during the whole game. The officials obviously didn’t see it the same way. Also, Saturday was the first time I have seen John Brown in person, and he certainly gets the Lebron treatment as every single call went his way it seemed. Don’t get me wrong, he is a game changer and he deserves the credit he receives. However, the big man did have a Not Top 10 moment as he tried to showboat with an open dunk attempt. It clanked off the back of the rim and Longwood took possession.
Jayson Gee seems to think this team will respond after such a poor outing. At this point, if Jayson Gee says it, i’m a believer. His achievements may not seem that good at first glance, but fans certainly see the gradual shift in Longwood basketball.
Tidbits:
Coach Gee gave TT Carey and Lucas Woodhouse some leeway in the post game interview with Scott Bacon on WVHL 92.3. The coach explained that he can’t be too hard on those guys for a less than stellar offensive outing considering how much the young Lancers squad has had to lean on the co-captains.
The head coach did talk about Woodhouse needing to be a more vocal leader and holding guys accountable. Gee, like most Longwood fans, knows Woodhouse is an incredible floor general but he wants the sophomore to show it more with leadership.
Speaking of Woodhouse, he had 7 points, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds in just 25 minutes of action. The 25 minutes was his second fewest minutes played this season (21 minutes at TCU).
TT Carey didn’t have his shot early on but did end up with 17 points and 8 rebounds. He was just 1–6 from three.
Karl Ziegler seemed to rebound from his recent shooting woes. The sophomore finished with 11 points on 3 of 5 shooting while also converting on 5 of 6 attempts at the free throw line. Ziegler seems at his best when he gets to the basket because his mid-range jumper is a legitimate threat. Karl also pulled down 6 boards.
The young guys are developing before our eyes. Damarion Geter went 3 of 6 for 6 points and 5 boards. DJ Allen had just 7 points but watching him get to the basket is fun. He is so athletic in the air (think Aaron Mitchell) and with time, he will learn to convert more consistently inside the paint.
After the 7–0 run to begin the second half, freshman Isaac Belton played quite a bit for Coach Gee. Although he only had 2 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal, the minutes are valuable for a guy that will be part of the cohort replacing TT Carey.
