HIGH POINT, N.C. – Michael Christmas scored 18 points, Walyn Napper approached triple-double territory and fifth-seeded Longwood defeated No. 2 UNC Asheville 85-59 on Sunday to win the Big South Conference tournament .
The victory sends the Lancers to the NCAA tournament for the second time. They also qualified in 2022.
After scoring 42 points in the first half, the Lancers continued that after halftime. They increased their lead to 25 points in the first four minutes and led by at least 25 over the final nine minutes. They shot 59.6% for the game, going 7 of 13 from 3-point range and a solid 16 of 23 from the free throw line.
Napper scored 10 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds for Longwood (21-13). Szymon Zapala scored 17 points and 7 rebounds. Jesper Granlund and Johnathan Massie scored 11 points each.
Drew Pember led UNC Asheville (22-12) with 14 points.
Longwood dominated the first half, shooting 60% and scoring 30 points in the paint en route to a 42-24 halftime lead. Zapala scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Napper had six assists. A 13-0 run led to a 22-6 lead, and the Lancers led by at least 13 points for the rest of the half.
