Backed by redshirt senior guard Isaiah Walton’s 20-point performance, Longwood men’s basketball tipped-off their season under new Head Coach Griff Aldrich with a commanding 84-56 win over Division III Randolph College.
The home crowd was able to get a first look at Aldrich’s preferred up-tempo offense he previously said was the focus on the offensive side, but despite the win, he wanted to give his forwards more opportunities in the paint.
“We frankly would’ve like to play a lot more of what we like to call ‘paint touches,’ getting to the basket, I think we saw that more in the second half when we were able to get into the lane and then kick the ball and move it a little bit better,” Aldrich said. “The unfortunate thing is our shots just didn’t fall tonight.”
The Lancers took 63 shots shooting 39.7 percent from the floor, 36 of those shots being three-pointers. As they began to pile on shots, points in the paint increased, totaling to 30 for the game.
Walton, who provided 20 minutes off the bench, acknowledged their struggles offensively and defensively, but is confident in Aldrich’s new systems moving forward after a promising start.
“We got a lot of work to do for sure, but I’m really enjoying this new playing style,” Walton said.
According to Aldrich, Walton, last season’s leading scorer, coming off the bench was a “coach’s decision” and will not be his permanent role for the season.
Aldrich was satisfied with the effort defensively for the first ten minutes of the game, where the Lancers kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard. However, he didn’t have much to be pleased with when Randolph outscored Longwood in the second half, 40-36.
“In the first half defensively, we had several breakdowns defensively that led to baskets,” he said. “As the game wore on, I think fatigue, I think if I’m honest the scoreboard played into it, and I think we just lost focus.”
Sophomore forward Jordan Cintron also had a big night with a double-double, scoring 13 points and ten rebounds. Freshman forward Gus Okafor finished with 14 points and junior guard Lorenzo Phillips tallied ten points in their Lancers debut.
Redshirt junior forward Pernell Adgei went down in the first half and was helped off by his team, supposedly injuring his left leg. Aldrich said he “tweaked” his ankle and was told he was able to go back in the game, but with the team up 32 points, they made the decision to rest him for the second half.
Senior forward Spencer Franklin, who has been nursing an arm injury dating back to last season, came off the bench and provided 21 minutes scoring nine points. Graduate student forward Damarion Geter, who is coming off a career year, sustained a broken nose during a closed scrimmage and was ruled out before the game, according to a source close to the team. His status for Friday’s game at Richmond is unknown.
Spencer Franklin makes a clean break past Randolph’s defense and makes a slam dunk for Longwood.
Juan Munoz rushes into the paint after seeing an opening to score a point.
Isaiah Walton attempts another free throw after Randolph fouls him again.
