FARMVILLE, Va. – Three games into the 2020-21 season and still searching for their first win, Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich gave his players three directives before Tuesday's game against North Carolina A&T.
"We said we wanted to be the more competitive team. We said we want to play disciplined. We said we want to be connected."
Sparked by a near triple-double from freshman point guard Justin Hill, Longwood (1-3) showcased a versatile, fast-paced offense and a stifling defensive effort to cruise past North Carolina A&T 77-60 in Willett Hall.
In only his fourth career game, the true freshman Hill flirted with what would have been Longwood's first triple-double since Colin Ducharme recorded two during the 2000-01 season. Squaring off an Aggie (2-5) team led by MEAC Preseason Player of the Year Kameron Langley, Hill finished with nine points, 11 assists and eight rebounds while helping the Longwood offense to a season-high 30 made field goals and 11 three-pointers.
"I thought clearly tonight, right from the start we came at [North Carolina A&T]," Aldrich said. "I think that set the tone."
The performance was a coming-out party for a youthful Lancer team that entered the season with 10 of its 17 players having never suited up in a Longwood uniform. Tuesday night, however, the group bore a resemblance to the 2019-20 version of the Lancers who earned a program-record fourth-place finish in the final Big South standings."We really wanted to be focused on our fundamentals and have an urgent focus on our details," Aldrich said. "In the first half I think we had nine assists, we were getting into the lane, playing off two, and you saw the ball moving. We had a few miscues, but 95 percent of the time we were following our game plan."
Behind that game plan and Hill's 11-assist night, veteran point guard Juan Munoz scored 13 points, forward Christian Wilson added 15, and redshirt freshman forward Nate Lliteras scored 13 in his first career double-digit scoring game. The Lancers shot a season-best .526 (30-of-57) from the floor, tied for their fourth-best shooting performance in three years under Aldrich and their best since a .577 night in a win over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Nov. 12, 2019.
Longwood was equally dominant on the defensive end, holding North Carolina A&T (2-5) to .393 (22-of-56) shooting from the floor and winning the rebounding battle 40-26. Langley and Blake Harris both chipped in 16 points apiece for the Aggies.
However, in a battle between two high-scoring backcourts, Hill and Munoz led the charge for the Lancers by playing a hand in a combined 21 of Longwood's 30 made field goals. Munoz sank three of those from beyond the arc and dished three other assists to extend his streak to 22 consecutive games with a made three-pointer.
That was welcome production for a Lancer team that for a fourth straight game played without key guards Heru Bligen and DeShaun Wade, and for a second straight game junior transfer guard Jermaine Drewey. All out with injuries, their absence has left Munoz as the lone Division I veteran guard on Longwood's roster, but the 6-0 Morrisville, N.C., product has responded with four straight double-figure scoring games."I told the team in the film room after the game, huge credit to Juan Munoz tonight," Aldrich said of his fifth-year point guard. "He's been asked to carry a lot.
"We have key guards who he's been expecting to shoulder the loud, and they haven't been there. Juan's known that he has to step up, not so much on the court but with his leadership. It started in shootaround – he was vocal, he was giving everybody energy, giving everybody confidence. Similar to the Wake game, it was very clear whose team this was, and he just controlled it right from the tip."
Munoz sparked what turned out to be a game-breaking rally in the final 7:08 of the first half, opening aa 22-8 run with back-to-back layups and finishing that stretch with 10 points. The Lancers held the Aggies scoreless on nine of their final 12 possessions and rode a buzzer-beating three-pointer from sophomore Cameron O'Conner to a 41-24 halftime lead.
The Lancers led by double digits the rest of the way.
Now after playing three games in a span of six days, Longwood will get a five-day break to prep for its Big South Conference opener at Commonwealth rival Radford on Dec. 14-15. That back-to-back conference series will tip off at 6 p.m. both days on ESPN+, WVHL 92.9 FM and the TuneIn radio app.
#GoWood
"triple" - Google News
December 09, 2020 at 08:26AM
https://ift.tt/2JEi1oE
Hill Flirts With Triple-Double as Longwood Cruises Past NC A&T 77-60 - Longwood Athletics
"triple" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3dc0blF
https://ift.tt/2WoIFUS
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Hill Flirts With Triple-Double as Longwood Cruises Past NC A&T 77-60 - Longwood Athletics"
Post a Comment