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Longwood men’s basketball went toe-to-toe with Big 12 foe Kansas State on Monday night. The Lancers (6-2) never went away, but Kansas State (5-2) didn’t miss much either to push past Longwood 80-64 in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam.

The Wildcats shot 55% from three, the team’s best mark in more than a calendar year, and Coleman Hawkins led the way. The fifth-year transfer from Illinois went 5-7 from downtown on his way to a game-high 19 points. He stuffed the stat sheet with 10 boards, five assists, two steals and two two blocks, and three other Wildcats also reached double figures.

That was enough to offset an aggressive Longwood team that out shot Kansas State 19-5 at the foul line and saw three Lancers score in double figures. Kyrell Luc led Longwood with 15 points and added four assists, and Colby Garland chipped in 13 points while Johan Nziemi added 11 more.

“I was proud of the guys and their effort tonight,” said Longwood Head Coach Griff Aldrich. “We faced a good team that made tough shots throughout the game. To compete at this level, our execution has to be more crisp and consistent. Unfortunately, we had to many lapses, and credit Kansas State. They made us pay when those lapses occurred.”

Breaking down the third place Paradise Jam game

 The first half was neck-and-neck throughout and featured six ties and seven lead changes.

 Longwood took an early lead on a triple from KJ McClurg less than two minutes in, but KSU responded with a 5-0 mini spurt for a 9-5 lead with 17:36 to play in the half.

 Both defenses warmed up and gummed up the works for the next six minutes, turning the game into a grinder.

 Luc helped loosen things up for Longwood, erasing a five-point KSU lead with an and-one and a pair of foul shots to tie the game at 13 apiece.

 The game stayed within one possession both ways for the remainder of the half. While Hawkins and company were hitting triples, the Lancers bulldozed their way to a dozen foul shots to keep hanging around.

 Nziemi knotted the score at 30 apiece with a layup with 5:15 to go in the half, but Brendan Hausen, who had 16 points,answered with a three one minute later for KSU, and a 9-0 run extended the lead to double digits in the waning minutes of the half. Nziemi added one more bucket right before the break, and Longwood entered the half down eight, 44-36.

 The Lancers stormed out on their first possession of the second half. Garland hit a free throw, and Luc trimmed the Wildcat lead to five on a turnaround jumper by Luc. However, Hausen, Hawkins and David N’guessan stayed hot for Kansas State to extend the lead back to double figures.

‘We learned a great deal’

“Overall, the trip was really beneficial,” Aldrich said. “We learned a great deal about ourselves. Playing this level of competition three straight contests really showed who this team can be while also exposing some key areas for us to improve upon in order to reach our potential.”

The Lancers wrapped up the four-game road swing 2-2 and return home from the Paradise Jam to open a four-game homestand on Sunday, December 1 at 1 p.m. when they host Regent University. The game will air on ESPN+.