Longwood (8-22, 4-13) played two games in Willett Hall this week, both ending in losses. The Lancers fell 83-59 to No. 5 Winthrop Eagles (16-11, 11-5) and 72-59 to No. 3 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (21-8, 12-5).
Both opponents took early leads in the second half; Winthrop going on an 18-4 run in the first five minutes, Coastal on a 14-4 run within five.
“The second things started going bad for us, we started feeling bad and we almost took it to the other end of the court, in that it affected our defense that our offense wasn’t going,” said Head Coach Jayson Gee following the Winthrop game on Saturday.
Winthrop’s shooting percentage went from shooting 42.8 percent (12-of-28) from the field to 53.3 percent (16-of-30) in the second half; Coastal Carolina’s percentage drastically increased from 41.3 percent (12-of-29) to 65 percent (13-of-20).
The games stayed tight in the first half. Winthrop headed into halftime with a four point advantage, and a last second three from junior guard Leron Fisher sent Coastal to the locker room with a tie.
The Lancers “didn’t come out with a lot of energy” or “play to their abilities” in the second half, said Fisher after Winthrop.
Winthrop senior guard Keon Moore led the Eagles with 11 points in the second half, coming alive following a four-point first half. Freshman center Duby Okeke had two back-to-back dunks on freshman guard Ryan Badowski within a minute of entering the game, also giving Winthrop momentum to finish the game.
No Longwood players posted double-digit points during the second half; only senior guard, captain Quincy Taylor finished the game with over ten points (game-high 19).
“We needed to hit some shots, make some shots. I thought we missed a lot of layups and our defense was just not very good at all. Their ability to score consistently at the basket really killed us,” said Gee after Winthrop. “When we missed shots, we put our heads down instead of fighting through the adversity.”
Coastal Carolina received a boost from sophomore guard Elijah Wilson who scored all ten of his points in the second half. Junior forward Badou Diagne finished with a double-double, contributing 12 rebounds and 11 points.
Both Taylor and Fisher had 15 point games and contributed a combined five steals. Longwood’s improvement from 31.3 percent (10-of-32) from the field to 44 percent (11-of-25) after halftime did little to match the offensive surge from the Chanticleers.
"They outshot us there in the second half," Gee said to Longwood athletics’ official website following the Coastal game on Monday. "I thought their size at the basket hurt us. Their guards made some tough shots. They had some balanced scoring, but it just seemed like their guards scored more."
Longwood will face the Campbell Camels (9-20,3-13) for the first time this season in Willett Hall on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.—their last game before traveling to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the Big South Conference tournament beginning on Mar. 4 for the first round.
