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With just seven minutes left in the first half and the Lancers staring up at a 13-point deficit, head coach Griff Aldrich had a simple message for his team in the huddle: “Reset. Play with urgency.”

Message received.

A flurry of fast-break points started the work of digging out of the hole, and an increasingly boisterous home crowd at the Joan Perry Brock Centers spurred the Lancers to a 17-6 run over those last 7 minutes to go into halftime down by just a bucket. They took a lead for good just five minutes into the second on a corner three from sophomore guard Jaylen Benard and had soon built a 13-point lead of their own en route to a 80-54 victory in front of the enthusiastic packed stands.

Graduate forward Michael Christmas paced the Lancers with 17 points as six players in blue-and-white scored in double figures. Kyrell Luc added 15 points on 4-5 shooting, while Jaylen Benard and Colby Garland had 12. Elijah Tucker and Johan Nziemi both chalked up double-doubles in the win, Tucker with 10 rebounds and 11 points, Nziemi with 11 and 11.

“We’ve really grown as a team,” said Aldrich. “Part of being a really good team is being able to face adversity, fight back, and come out victorious. I thought these guys made a decision late in the first half to fight and dig in.”

As has become tradition following a home win, the players ran to the student section when the final horn sounded to celebrate.

“This team has a lot of room for growth,” said Aldrich. “There are still a lot of areas where we can improve and that’s not a criticism of where they are, but it’s more a statement of what I believe their potential could be. That’s exciting.”

Lancers make it five in six

On the boards, the Spartans frequently saw their empty fingers beat the empty air, as the poet says, as Longwood racked up plenty of frequent flyer miles in the air, winning the rebounding battle 41-33.

With the win, Longwood chalks up its fifth win in the last six games—three of those against top contenders for the Big South regular season title—and improve to 16-6 on the season.

The Lancers next head south for the start of a two-game road trip, playing at Gardner-Webb on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.