By Chris Garvin

OPENING TIP
•    Longwood returns from the holiday break with a trip to Dayton to take on a Flyers team that is receiving votes in the AP Top 25.
•    The Lancers had a 12-game winning streak snapped before the holiday break. At the time, it was the longest winning streak in the nation.
•    The matchup with Dayton is the final non-conference tilt for the Lancers before opening conference play at Winthrop in January.
•    The team has played a road heavy month of December, with this being the fifth road game in seven games in the month.
•    Longwood’s 12-2 start is the best in decades. The team last started 13-1 in the 1979-80 season.
•    The Lancer defense has held opponents to Big South best 61.6 points per game, the 12th best mark in the nation.
•    Longwood is 109 in the NCAA Net Rankings and 153 in Kenpom’s analytics.

LAST TIME OUT
•    Longwood battled on the road at North Carolina Central in its final game before the holiday break, but N.C. Central used a big second half to take down Longwood 79-70.
•    Johnathan Massie keyed Longwood with a team-best 20 points and nine rebounds, and Michael Christmas added 12 points and 7 boards of his own.
•    However, four players scored in double figures for N.C. Central, who improved to 34-2 at home in non-conference games since 2016.
•    The Lancers led 35-30 at halftime after both sides struggled to shoot the ball in the first half.
•    N.C. Central got hot after halftime and shot .550 from the floor and .852 (23-27) from the foul line as well to take the lead. Ja’Darius Harris led all scorers with 21 points.

BY THE NUMBERS
•    Longwood’s 12 wins are the second-most in 14 games to start the season in program history.
•    The Lancers have won 10 of their first 15 games in back-to-back-to-back seasons for the first time since doing so in five straight seasons from 1978-79 to 1982-83.
•    Longwood has won at least 10 of its first 15 games four times in six seasons under Aldrich.
•    The Lancer defense has held five opponents to fewer than 60 points in a game this season.
•    Longwood’s defense has held opponents to 61.6 points per game, the 12th best mark nationally and the top number in the Big South.
•    Seventeen times, Longwood has held an opponent to fewer than 32 points in a half this year.
•    The defense holds opponents to a .393 shooting percentage from the floor, which ranks 37th in the nation and first in the Big South.
•    Longwood’s defense forces 15.6 turnovers per game, the top mark in the Big South and 36th in the nation.
•    The Lancers average 8.2 steals per game, which is second in the Big South.
•    Longwood pounds the glass, outrebounding opponents by 13.6 boards per game, the third-best mark in the nation.
•    Longwood grabs 14.6 offensive rebounds per game, the top mark in the Big South and 13th in the nation.
•    The Lancers have the best offensive-rebounding percentage in the Big South at .415.
•    Longwood cleans the defensive glassfor a league-best .777 defensive-rebounding percentage.
•    Michael Christmas has been Longwood’s top rebounder this season, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game, which is fourth in the Big South and 129th nationally.
•    Four players average in double figures in scoring: Walyn Napper (14.4-7th in the Big South), Johnathan Massie (12.7-15th Big South), Michael Christmas (10.9-23rd Big South), Szymon Zapala (10.6-26th Big South)

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