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The Rotunda
Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Lancers come up short in early tests, begin season 0-2

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Longwood men's basketball vs. Stephen T. Austin

The much anticipated 2017-18 season for the Longwood men’s basketball team is officially underway, as head coach Jayson Gee’s squad has already hosted two of their first three home games to start the season this past week.

The Lancers (0-2) began their three-game home stand on Saturday, Nov. 11 with a matchup against Texas mid-major powerhouse Stephen F. Austin, who has made the NCAA Tournament three times in the past four seasons.

Stephen F. Austin sophomore guard Kevon Harris’ 23 point and 12 rebound night helped the Lumberjacks defeat the new-look Lancers 74-61, losing their second consecutive home opener.

Sloppy performances on both sides led to 43 combined turnovers and shooting percentages both under 45 percent. However, the Lumberjacks better field goal percentage and less turnovers led to their advantage.

Redshirt sophomore forward Jahleem Montague, an Atlantic City, New Jersey native, made his Longwood debut after recovering from his third ACL injury last season. Montague collected eight rebounds and contributed five points in his emotion-filled return to the court.

Also making his Lancer debut was redshirt senior guard B.K. Ashe, who sat out all last season due to NCAA transfer rules. Ashe started at point guard and played 21 minutes, contributing four points before exiting with under 15 minutes to play with a lower body injury.

“We played some really good defense, but we gave up second-chance points and a lot of points off turnovers,” Gee said on the official Longwood athletics website. “Once we lost B.K., that stretched us a little more than we could bear.”

Redshirt senior Charles Glover tied for the most minutes played with 31 alongside redshirt junior guard Isaiah Walton, who dropped 21 points in the loss.

Three days later, Ivy League squad Columbia University rolled into Willett Hall fresh off a double-digit loss at the hands of the 2016 NCAA champion and Top-25 team Villanova in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A game filled with fireworks on both ends of the court, Columbia outlasted the Lancers 87-77, handing Longwood their eighteenth straight loss dating back to last season.

The Lions took an 11-point lead into the break after ending the half on an 8-0 run, which was wiped away by the Lancers in the second half who cut the lead to as little as two points with just over 10 minutes remaining.

However, with every shot the Lancers sank, the Columbia Lions continuously had an answer.

The Lions put on a three-point barrage Tuesday night, connecting 16 shots from beyond the arc, compared to Longwood’s eight.

The Lancers’ loss comes despite redshirt sophomore guard Isaiah Walton’s eye-opening performance, shooting a career-high 32 points while hitting 11-of-17 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range.

Ashe, who exited Stephen T. Austin game early with a lower body injury, played 37 minutes and contributed a double-double with 17 point and 10 rebounds.

Despite a few standout performances for the Lancers, the New York-based university snagged their first win of the season, improving to 1-1.

“Everybody sees that we can be a really good team when we put our minds to it, but the problem right now is we just can’t get stops when we really need them,” Ashe said on the official Longwood athletics website.

Longwood will look to bounce back from these early losses against Saint Francis in Pennsylvania at 3 p.m. on Saturday, then travel to Greensboro, North Carolina for the UNCG Spartan Classic Invitational tournament.