#1 Longwood Wins 2022 Hercules Tires Big South Men's Basketball Championship
For the first time in program history, top-seeded Longwood captured the Big South Men's Basketball title and earned the automatic bid in March Madness with its 79-58 win over second-seeded Winthrop Sunday afternoon inside Bojangles' Coliseum.
Longwood finds out who it will play in one week, on NCAA Selection Sunday.
Spalding MVP
Isaiah Wilkins had 19 points and 8 rebounds,
Leslie Nkereuwem added 11 and Longwood outplayed tournament No. 2 seed Winthrop nearly from start to finish.
Wilkins played both possessed and utterly cool at both ends of the court in a heart-and-soul performance that made him tournament MVP.
After jumping to a 17-6 early lead – a far cry from Saturday's semi-final when Longwood was down 16 early – Longwood punched back after every Winthrop run. After the Eagles cut the lead to 17-10, the Lancers answered with 8 points in 63 seconds – a
Nate Lliteras 3-pointer, and a Hill running jumper and 3-pointer spaced around two more defensive stops to go up 25-10.
Moments later it was Wilkins' turn to take over with a pair powerful driving fast-break layups 15 seconds appoint, followed by a DeShaun Wade 3 that extended the lead to 20 3:39 before intermission.
The Lancers were up 45-27 at the break. They shot 8-for-10 from 3-point range before halftime and had 22 points off turnovers to Winthrop's two.
Winthrop chipped away at points in the second half.
After the grueling three-game tournament, Longwood will have to rest and prepare to likely face one of the Top 10 teams in the country.