High Point: 2026 Big South Men's Basketball Champions

 

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- Rob Martin scored 24 points, Cam'Ron Fletcher added 17 with 19 rebounds, and top-seeded High Point beat No. 2 seed Winthrop 91-76 on Sunday for the Panthers' second straight Big South Conference championship.

High Point: 2024-25 Big South Men's Basketball Champions

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- Bobby Pettiford scored 17 points off the bench and High Point rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to defeat Winthrop 81-69 in the Big South Championship title game on Sunday, giving the Panthers their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Winthrop led by 10 points at halftime and 48-33 with 15 minutes remaining. Pettiford nailed a 3-pointer and followed it with a layup to start a 14-0 run that got High Point within 48-47. Three and a half minutes later, Trae Benham's three-point play broke a 52-all tie and High Point led for the first time since it was 14-13.

The Panthers (29-5) led the rest of the way although Winthrop was within 75-69 with a minute to go. However, the Eagles did not score again and the Panthers went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to close out their first Big South Championship title. High Point has won the Big South regular season title six times.

The Panthers' 14th straight win was due in large part to 50 points from their bench, 44 in the second half. In addition to Pettiford's 17 points, Abdoulaye Thiam had 12 points, Benham had eight points and 10 rebounds, and Terry Anderson added eight points. Kezza Giffa, who scored 16 points, was the only starter with more than six points.

Winthrop (23-11) had five players reach double-digits in scoring. Kelton Talford led the Eagles with 15 points, followed by Bryce Baker with 11, Nick Johnson with 11, Kasen Harrison with 10 and K.J. Doucet with 10 points to go with nine rebounds.

Longwood: 2023-24 Big South Men's Basketball Champions

 

HIGH POINT, N.C. – They never stopped believing. If they could just stick together, they could be the best team in the hugely talented Big South.

They did. They are.

And now they're headed back to March Madness – bringing Lancer Nation along for another thrilling ride to the Big Dance.

Michael Christmas scored 18 points, Szymon Zapala had 17, and Walyn Napper added 10 points and 11 assists to lead Longwood past UNC Asheville 85-59 Sunday in the Hercules Tire Big South Tournament championship game, advancing to the NCAA Division I Tournament for the second time in three years. Napper was named the Tournament MVP, and both Christmas and Zapala joined him as All-Tournament selections.

In three unforgettable days of basketball, the Lancers beat the No. 4, No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the tournament.

On Sunday, they dominated defending champion UNC Asheville, leaving zero doubt who was the Big South's best team when it mattered most.

 

"It means everything," Zapala said. "It's a dream come true for me, playing in a championship game, winning, and getting a chance to play in March Madness."

When it was over Lancers cut down the nets in the Qubein Center with students, Stampede band members, cheerleaders, faculty and staff, teary-eyed family and other glowing fans eager to celebrate after driving down to cheer in person for a team that that caught fire in the final weeks of the season.

They'll find out who they play in the NCAA Tournament in one week, on Selection Sunday.

"Just an amazing performance by the guys," said head coach Grif Aldrich. "Our effort was tremendous. We were extremely tough. Three games in three days….. The reality is these guys, I'm not sure they couldn't have played another 40 minutes the way they were playing. There was just a dog mentality across the board. I thought it was tremendous."

Two years ago, Longwood (21-13) made its first NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Big South Tournament, following a 15-1 conference record. This time the journey was very different – but thrilling in a new way, a storyline even the most hopeful Lancer fans could hardly have imagined just a few short weeks ago.

This was a group that bonded early – on a preseason trip to Europe -- and stuck together through a tough stretch of mid-year setbacks that might have unraveled less connected teams. Just eight days ago, Longwood seemed likely to be relegated to a first-round play-in game in the conference tournament.

"The only people who didn't realize they were 6-10 in conference were the guys in our locker room," Aldrich said. "They knew they were a lot better. They believed throughout. Their confidence in themselves and each other has truly been remarkable."

In the final weeks of the season, they showed they could go toe-to-toe with anyone in a conference whose overall talent level has never been higher.

Then, in Sunday's title game, they did a lot more than go toe-to-toe.

They had to do it without a key contributor. Elijah Tucker, who played a critical role getting Longwood to Sunday, missed the final game with an injury.

"I talked to ET before the game, what he said was, 'go win the championship,'" Zapala said. "We all said before the game we had to do it for him. That was our mindset from the beginning."

No kidding. Christmas opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and a dunk, Johan Nziemi followed with six quick points as Longwood exploded out of the gates. The Lancers simply pounded away at the Bulldogs inside, extending the lead to 42-24 on Zapala's lay-in at the halftime buzzer.

It was the most complete half of basketball Lancer fans had seen in a long time – maybe ever – and Asheville never knew what hit them. Longwood dominated the boards, held two-time Big South Player of the Year Drew Pember to a single first-half field goal, and kept the Bulldogs off the free throw line until the final 37 seconds before intermission.

The second half was more of the same, as Longwood simply outmuscled, outhustled, outshot and outrebounded the Bulldogs, never letting them get within striking range – allowing players and fans to loudly savor the final two minutes, the game and title in hand.

Everyone contributed, picking up slack with Tucker's absence. Emmanuel Richards was ferocious on defense, and DA Houston – back after an eye injury that limited his minutes in the semi-finals – played with his usual relentlessness while helping Longwood break Asheville's press.

Even Trey Hicks, who made himself a team leader despite getting very little playing time due to injuries during his Longwood career, came off for a few minutes in the second half for the first time this season to spot a Lancers' frontcourt depleted by Tucker's absence. And to the delight of Longwood fans – and his parents in the stands – he scored the final points of the game on a dunk.

Napper, meanwhile, set a tournament championship game record with his 11 assists.

"Walyn Napper and DA have literally grabbed hold of this team and told them what they're going to do, how they're going to do it," Aldrich said. "The leadership you saw over the past couple of days has been phenomenal." Of Napper, he added:  "One of the great joys in coaching is getting to see people grow. I've never seen anybody grow as much. Even if we had lost in the tournament."

It was the cap of an eight-day run Lancer Nation will never forget. A week ago Saturday, Napper's last-second bucket sent Longwood past regular-season champion High Point in the season finale in Farmville, rocketing them up to a No. 5 seed.

On Thursday, they outworked No. 4 seed Winthrop in the second half to earn a 69-55 quarterfinal victory. And on Saturday, in a game Lancer fans will never forget, they rallied from 15 down in the second half to beat No. 1 seed High Point again – this time on their home court, stunning and silencing a raucous sell-out crowd.

In Sunday's championship game, a close-knit team showed this was no fluke. Longwood is the best team in the Big South.

It's hard to overstate just how far Longwood basketball had traveled.

Prior to the arrival of head coach Aldrich in 2018, Longwood had never finished better than eighth in the conference, had just one overall winning season in its Division I history – and none since joining the Big South. Under Aldrich they've now finished fifth or better in the regular season five straight seasons, and won 20 games or more three straight years – a first in program history at any level.

"I think we have really strived, President Reveley, Tim Hall our AD, we've really wanted to build a program, not just a team," Aldrich said. "This has been an institutional effort. This is extremely is rewarding I hope for a lot of people, not just the guys and women in the men's basketball department, but in a lot of departments where people have really worked hard to build this program."

There's still basketball to play.

#GoWood

UNC Asheville: 2022-23 Big South Men's Basketball Champions

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Drew Pember had 29 points, Tajion Jones scored 16 in the final 7:35 and No. 1 seed UNC Asheville stormed back to beat seventh-seeded Campbell 77-73 on Sunday, winning the Big South conference tournament championship and advancing to the NCAA tournament for the fifth time.

Ricky Clemons hit a jumper to give Campbell a 66-52 lead, and then Jones took over. The senior guard scored 10 straight points for the Bulldogs (27-7) after Pember made two free throws to cut their deficit to 68-64 with 3:41 to go. Clemons and Jones traded 3-pointers and Pember followed with a three-point play to get UNC Asheville within 71-70.

Clemons hit a jumper with 1:44 to play but the Fighting Camels would not score again. Pember, who has attempted and made more free throws than anyone else in the country, sank a pair. Clemons was fouled but missed both free throws and Jones buried a 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs on top 75-73 with 55 seconds left. The last time UNC Asheville had had the lead the score was 13-11.

Pember, the Big South's Player of the Year, hit 9 of 19 shots but just 1 of 6 from 3-point range. He made 10 of 12 foul shots. Jones sank 9 of 14 shots, including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. They each grabbed eight rebounds. Fletcher Abee hit three from distance and scored 11.

Jay Pal scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Fighting Camels. The senior made 11 of 18 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. He added four assists and blocked two shots. Big South Freshman of the Year Anthony Dell'Orso scored 12 points -- just two after halftime -- and snagged seven rebounds. Clemons, a former walk-on who is now a senior, hit two 3-pointers and scored 17 before fouling out.

Pal had 16 points and eight rebounds by halftime to guide Campbell to a 38-35 lead at intermission.

The Fighting Camels (16-18) made their only trip to the Big Dance in 1992, losing to eventual champion Duke in the first round 82-56. Campbell is the sixth No. 7 seed to advance to the Big South title game. All six lost to the top seed.

UNC Asheville sports a 2-4 record in its four previous NCAA tourney appearances.

Longwood: 2021-22 Big South Men's Basketball Champions

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- - Isaiah Wilkins scored 19 points and Longwood advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time with a 79-58 victory over Winthrop on Sunday in the Big South tournament championship game.

Top-seeded Longwood (26-6) never trailed, led by as many as 21 in the first half, 28 in the second half and cruised against the second-seeded Eagles (23-9), a perennial Big South power who had won the last two conference tournament titles and hoped to win its 19th overall.

The two division champions came in on a roll. Winthrop had won its last 10 games, its previous loss coming to the Lancers 92-88 in the regular season. Longwood had won seven straight and was making its first conference tournament championship appearance. Winthrop beat the Lancers in the semifinals last year.

Wilkins, who spent two seasons at Virginia Tech and another at Wake Forest before coming to Longwood this season, was 7-of-11 shooting with three 3-pointers, eight rebounds and three steals. Leslie Nkereuwem added 11 points. Justin Hill had nine points with eight rebounds and five assists.

Big South player of the year D.J. Burns Jr. led Winthrop with 14 points. Micheal Anumba had 12 and Patrick Good 11.

The outcome was essentially decided in the first half when little went wrong for Longwood, shooting 60%, making 8 of 10 3-point attempts and scoring 22 points off 11 turnovers to lead 45-27. Wilkins led the way with 12 points. Five players hit from the arc including Nate Lliteras with three for his nine points.

A 13-0 run gave Longwood its largest lead of 28 during a stretch of the second half when Winthrop went seven minutes without a field goal. The closest Winthrop got after that was 16.

In the end, Longwood outshot Winthrop 53% to 41%, made 10 of 17 from the arc to 6 of 24 for the Eagles and scored 32 points off 19 turnovers that included 10 steals.

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Winthrop: 2021 Big South Men's Basketball Champions

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- — D.J. Burns scored 22 points and Winthrop took off in the second half to a 80-53 victory over Campbell on Sunday for its second straight Big South tournament championship and automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

Burns finished the first half with consecutive baskets for a six-point lead and the Eagles (23-1) made their first eight shots of the second half in running away from Campbell for their 13th championship in 17 title-game appearances. They will be making their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance.

By the time the top-seeded Eagles missed a shot in the second half they led 36-21. The blazing shooting continued as the lead reached a high of 31 and they eased to their seventh straight win during a season when they had a 21-game win streak before a two-point loss to UNC Asheville. They are 43-4 in their last 47 games.

Burns, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, forward finished 11 of 12 from the floor with the Eagles shooting 79% in the second half and 63% overall. Kyle Zunic added 13 points with 3-pointers. Chandler Vaudrin, who has three triple-doubles this season, had 10 rebounds and six assists to go with eight points.

Winthrop won the tournament title last year only to see their NCAA Tournament bid dissolve with the COVID-19 crisis.

"Oh man, it's so great to be back here, knowing the opportunity we had last year and unfortunately events took it away from us," said Burns, who transferred from Tennessee two years ago. "It feels good to back here and have a second shot to do it again.

"We work as hard or harder than anybody in the country and we're gonna to go out and go play our game, play our style to speed them up or slowing down if you need to. We're all gonna do whatever it takes to win. That's a part of our culture that the coaches instilled in us from Day One."

Third-seeded Campbell (17-10) came in on a nine-game win streak and looking for its first NCAA appearance in 29 years. Though the Camels lost a two-game series at Winthrop during the regular season, one of those losses came by just a point. But this time, they led only once — at 2-0.

Jordan Whitfield scored 18 points and Ricky Clemons 10 for Campbell.

Winthrop won its three tournament games by an average of nearly 26 points.

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Winthrop: 2019-20 Big South Men's Basketball Champions

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- It took a freshman to bring Winthrop back to where it almost always used to go -- the NCAA Tournament.

DJ Burns scored 16 points, 12 of them in the second half, to lead the second-seeded Eagles to a 76-68 win over fifth-seeded Hampton on Sunday in the Big South Conference championship game.

Winthrop is off to its 11th NCAA Tournament, but just the fourth for the Eagles (24-10) since 2007, when coach Gregg Marshall set the bar for small conference excellence, winning the Big South seven times in nine seasons before heading to Wichita State.

"You walk in that gym every day and you look up and those banners just stare at you," said Eagles coach Pat Kelsey, who made his second Big Dance in his eighth season.

Kelsey blew a kiss to his family as the buzzer sounded and students, let in free at the university president's declaration on Twitter, stormed the court. The No. 2 seed Eagles got to play at home after Hampton (15-19) beat top seed Radford in the semifinals.

Hunter Hale threw the ball almost into the rafters as the students swarmed. The senior transferred to Winthrop after two seasons at Division II Grand Valley State in Michigan. His 10 points included a soft jumper with the shot clock winding down that put Winthrop up seven with 1:08 to go.

The freshman Burns flipped a game that Hampton appeared might run away with. The Pirates led by as many as 15 in the first half and were up 39-32 with 16 minutes to go,

Burns scored 12 of Winthrop's next 21 points on a combination of soft hooks and power spin moves as Hampton gambled by not double teaming him.

"People have doubled and had some success. People have doubled and gotten burned, pun intended," Kelsey said.

Hampton's Jermaine Marrow, the nation's third leading scorer at 25 points a game, was held to 18 points. The senior played all but three minutes over the Pirates three tournament games and scored 32 in a quarterfinal win over Gardner-Webb and 36 in the semifinal win over Radford.

Ben Stanley added 15 points for the Pirates. Stanley and Greg Heckstall, who had 16 rebounds, also played all 40 minutes for Hampton.

"I'll never second guess myself that I played my seniors and my main players the minutes that I did. It's about getting to this moment. If I didn't do it, we probably wouldn't be here," Hampton coach Ed Joyner said.

BIG PICTURE

Hampton: The Pirates needed a huge game from Marrow, who went 6 for 11 on 3-pointers in the semifinal win, and didn't quite get it. The senior was 5 of 19 from the field, 1 of 10 on 3-pointers. Still, it was a run like few have seen in the Big South for the Pirates in their second season in the league.

Winthrop: The Eagles needed balance and got it. Nine of the 10 players who got on the court scored and four ended up in double figures.

HAPPY TO BE THERE

Kelsey wouldn't say what seed he thought Winthrop should be in the NCAA Tournament. He just can't wait to get there.

"You walk in the gym and there are going to be (four) games that day so the air is frigid. There's blue carpet all over the back hallways. And everybody has a lanyard on like `Wayne's World," Kelsey said. "It's just awesome."

AGONY OF DEFEAT

Joyner and Marrow cried as they talked to reporters after the game. Marrow is from Newport News, Virginia, and his coach said he was told not to go to nearby Hampton.

Marrow leaves as the Pirates top all-time scorer (2,680) and second in school history in assists (633).

Talking through his tears, Joyner said Marrow was as close to him as his sons.

"I put everything in him to make sure this young man survived and made it out. This young man is 20 hours from graduating or less. He's going to have an opportunity to play basketball and do something for himself, his family, his son he just had," Joyner said.

Marrow buried his face in his hoodie. "This man gave me an opportunity He believed in me from day one. This school believed in me. I'll love him for that forever."

UP NEXT

Hampton: The season is likely over and the Pirates will need to figure out how to replace Marrow.

Winthrop: There's a Selection Sunday party in Rock Hill next Sunday, where the Eagles could sneak as high as a 15 seed.

Gardner-Webb: 2018-19 Big South Men's Basketball Champions

RADFORD, Va. -- DJ Laster scored a career-best 32 points and Gardner-Webb beat Radford 76-65 on Sunday to win the Big South Tournament championship and earn its first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Laster had 30 of the Runnin' Bulldogs' first 44 points, including seven during a 13-5 second-half run that gave them a 46-33 lead. Gardner-Webb (23-11) twice saw its lead shrink to five, but each time answered with the next points to hold off the Highlanders.

David Efianayi added 15 points, all in the second half, and Jose Perez had 11 for Gardner-Webb.

Donald Hicks had 17 points, Ed Polite Jr. 15 and Carlik Jones 14 for Radford (22-11), which was trying to win its fourth conference title and seeking a repeat of last season, when it won its first NCAA Tournament game.

The Highlanders never fully recovered after going scoreless for 8:08 in the first half as the Bulldogs ran off 11 consecutive points and built a 20-7 lead. They closed to within five by halftime and twice down the stretch, but couldn't stop the fourth-seeded Bulldogs, who earned their spot in the championship by knocking off top-seeded Campbell on Friday night.

Radford won the only regular-season meeting, 75-58, also at the Dedmon Center.

Gardner-Webb led 27-22 at halftime and was up 33-28 before Laster led a 13-5 run with seven points, including one of his two 3-pointers and a dunk.

BIG PICTURE

Gardner-Webb: Laster's huge day helped the Runnin' Bulldogs overcome the absence of scoring leader David Efianayi (18.5 points per game) from the score sheet until he made a pair of free throws with 12:18 remaining. Efianayi followed shortly thereafter with a dunk and carried the scoring down the stretch.

Radford: The game may have been the last at home for Ed Polite Jr. a first-team All-Big South selection who fouled out with 31.6 seconds left. Polite had 15 points and five rebounds and is the only player in league history with 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 175 steals, 175 assists and 150 blocks.

UP NEXT

Gardner-Webb: Will play in the NCAA Tournament.

Radford: Will hope for a postseason invitation.

Radford: 2017-18 Big South Men’s Basketball Champions

RADFORD, Va. -- Carlik Jones had clear instructions: Take the final shot of regulation and leave no time on the clock for Liberty to counter.

The freshman did just that, and swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer on Sunday, giving Radford a 55-52 victory in the Big South Conference championship and its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2009.

The result, Jones said, was better than the Highlanders' execution.

Radford (22-12) called timeout with 13 seconds left, setting up the final play. It was meant to be a double screen, but as Jones dribbled away the time, one of his teammates forgot his role, forcing Jones to make his move with about three seconds remaining.

"I had to let it go," he said. "You shoot it, and I looked at it after a while and I was like, `That's good," he said.

"It's one of the greatest feelings ever."

Officials reviewed the play to be sure no time was left on the clock, and once that was confirmed, Radford fans began celebrating.

Jones had 13 points and six assists to lead the Highlanders, who'll carry a seven-game winning streak into the tournament. Travis Fields Jr. added 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range and Ed Polite Jr. and Devonnte Holland had 11 each.

The Highlanders, in their seventh season under coach Mike Jones, were picked to finish seventh in the preseason.

"Everybody's shocked because nobody believed in us but Radford," Polite said. "We played with that chip on our shoulder the whole year."

Mike Jones choked up talking about the path his career has taken. Hired away from VCU after being an assistant under Shaka Smart when the Rams made their Final Four run in 2011, he took over a program that had won just five games the previous year and was losing players.

"It's been a long road," he said, noting that the victory evened his career record at 115-115.

Scottie James had 20 points, 16 after halftime, and 13 rebounds to lead the Flames (20-14), who lost to Radford for the third time this season. Lovell Cabbil added 15 points, but missed a 3-pointer to set up the Highlanders' final possession. He also was defending Jones on his game-winner.

"He hit a tough shot," Cabbil said. "I thought I got a decent contest. He just made a big shot at the right moment."

Holland did all his scoring in the first half, including six points during a 10-4 run that broke a 14-all tie late in the first half.

The Highlanders led 26-21 at halftime.

BIG PICTURE



Liberty: The Flames hurt their cause with 15 turnovers that Radford turned into 18 points. Liberty scored 11 off seven Radford turnovers.

Radford: Holland led the Highlanders with seven rebounds and kept them in the game as Polite, their scoring leader at 13.6 per game, went scoreless in the first half while saddled with foul trouble. Fields hit three 3-pointers in the second half and Jones' game-winner was Radford's only other one in 12 attempts.

UP NEXT

Liberty will hope for an invitation to the NIT.

Radford heads to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine years.