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Welcome to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Longwood. The Lancers (6-0) came through in the clutch to stay unbeaten with a thrilling 89-81 win over UAB, extending their undefeated start in front of a large, and loud, contingent from Lancer nation.

Michael Christmas, once again, delivered the dagger and a team-best 17 points, and Kyrell Luc, Colby Garland and KJ McClurg all scored in double figures. But a full team effort helped bring the win, as Longwood went 11 deep—with 10 who scored—and needed every minute in a matchup between two NCAA Tournament teams a season ago.

Yet again, the Lancers were at their best when it mattered most down the stretch. The Lancer defense held the Blazers (3-3) to 40 percent shooting after halftime, and the trio of Christmas, Luc and Garland always made the right play—whether scoring or getting it to a teammate.

“I thought our guys really came out and were tough in the second half,” said Longwood Head Coach Griff Aldrich. “We battled through a lot of good stretches for UAB. They really dominated us on the offensive glass in the first half. I thought we came out in the second half with more purpose to try and control the defensive glass. Obviously, they are a very big and physical team, and I thought we played with a lot more purpose on the offensive end–more patient, trying to get the shots that we wanted. We had one stretch that wasn’t great, but overall, I thought we executed on the offensive end.”

Longwood shoots the lights out

Every basket, every stop and every dribble felt game-altering, as neither side led by more than three over the final 10 minutes—until Christmas hit his dagger three.

Luc hit a tough jumper to break a 78-78 tie, and then the Lancers forced a stop. Luc then sliced into the defense and found Christmas with acres of space for one of the team’s two threes after halftime. He pushed the lead to 83-78 with 1:04 to play.

The defense then forced a second straight stop, and Christmas swished two free throws for a seven-point with 39 seconds to play. While Ja’borri Mcghee hit a three for UAB immediately thereafter, the Lancers stayed cool and iced the game at the foul line.

 “I think coming out and punching first, that helped us throughout the whole second half in staying consistent, attacking, and being aggressive,” said Christmas. “We were not letting them get easy baskets and trying to limit their second chance points because they got a lot of those in the first half. Punching first was the key to it.”

Christmas was a tough cover throughout the game, but he battled foul trouble in the first half. Even so, he bullied his way to buckets around the cup against single coverage, shooting 5-7 from the floor and 6-6 from the free throw line.

The point guard duo of Luc and Garland were poised as well, and the Lancers only committed seven turnovers against the length and pressure UAB applied. They piloted a Lancer offense that shot better than 50 percent from the deck on the day

Luc had 14 points, a season high, and Garland added 12, matching his season high, while each grabbed five boards to boot.

Coming up next

Longwood will play the winner of McNeese and Illinois State in the Semifinals of the Paradise Jam on Sunday, November 24 at 5:30 p.m. (EST). The game will air on ESPN+.