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The best runs for Longwood men’s basketball start with defense. The defense showed up for the Lancers (10-3) and shut down former Big South foe Campbell on Wednesday night to the tune of a 77-55 true road win.

The Lancers gave up only 15 made shots on the night and forced 14 turnovers that turned into 18 points the other direction. They hounded reigning CAA Player of the Week Nolan Dorsey into five turnovers, and only one player for Campbell (5-7) scored in double figures.

Meanwhile, Longwood’s offense had 11 players score. Longwood hustled its way to 15 offensive rebounds and poured in 40 points in the paint. Johan Nziemi led the charge, bruising his way to 13 points, including a 7-7 effort at the foul line. Michael Christmas added 11 points, and Colby Garland chipped in 11 points and six assists.

However, the story of the night was the defense and how it helped put the game to rest with a pivotal first-half run.

Campbell punched first and jumped out to a 10-4 lead four minutes in.

Longwood responded with a haymaker.

A swarming defense corralled everything in sight and only gave up two points over a stretch of more than 11 minutes in the first half. During the 26-2 run, the Lancers forced eight turnovers, held Campbell to 1-13 shooting and had five players score. Christmas banged a three to cut the Campbell lead to one, and Nziemi gave Longwood the lead for good with an and-one a minute later. 

The lead ballooned to 30-12 off a triple from Kyrell Luc before Campbell finally ended the run. Trey Hicks drained a pair of foul shots for a 34-14 lead for Longwood, but Campbell scored the final six points of the half to get to 20. The 20 points were the second-fewest surrendered in a half this season by Longwood.

After halftime, the Lancers never bent.

The defense kept Campbell’s offense at bay, and Emanuel Richards pushed the lead back to more than 20 with an offensive rebound and putback that made it 47-26 five minutes into the half. Campbell never drew closer than 18 points the rest of the way.

Longwood will stay on the road with a trip to North Carolina Central. It will make the second meeting between the two teams in a week, with the two sides having played on Saturday, December 14.