CHARLOTTE — Kyla McMakin had 22 points and six steals, Tra’dayja Smith went 5 for 5 from 3-point range and finished with 21 points, and No. 2 seed Longwood beat top-seeded Campbell 86-47 on Sunday night to win the Big South Conference tournament and clinch the first NCAA Tournament berth in program history.
Senior Akila Smith, the conference player of the year, had 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Kennedy Calhoun scored 11 for Longwood (21-11), which has won nine games in a row.
McMakin made back-to-back baskets to open the scoring and Akila Smith, Calhoun and Briana Johns each hit a 3 in a 66-second span as the Lancers jumped to a 17-0 lead.
Campbell — which finished tied with Longwood for the Big South’s regular season title — had won three in a row in the series, limiting the Lancers to 126 combined points (41.7 per game). The Camels ended Longwood’s season with a 54-39 win in the semifinals of last year’s conference tournament and then swept the regular season series to earn the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
Longwood shot 60% (30 of 50) from the field, hit 10 of 16 (63%) from 3-point range and scored 27 points off 21 Campbell turnovers. The Lancers’ 87 points were the most allowed by the Camels this season.
Faith Price scored 13 points and Shy Tuelle added 11 for Campbell (23-7). Taya Bolden, the team’s leading scorer (12.7 per game) and rebounder (10.2), finished with two points on 1-of-7 shooting and four rebounds.
The Camels lost in the Big South title game for the third consecutive season.
CAA Men’s Conference Tournament
UNC Wilmington 75, Elon 58
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trazarien White recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds to lift UNC Wilmington to a 75-58 win over Elon in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament on Sunday night.
Jaylen Sims had 16 points and six rebounds for UNC Wilmington (22-8). Mike Okauru added 12 points. Shykeim Phillips had 12 points.
Hunter McIntosh had 15 points for the Phoenix (10-22).
Darius Burford, who led the Phoenix in scoring heading into the contest with 14 points per game, was held to only four points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Sun Belt Men’s Conference Tournament
Georgia State 71, Appalachian State 66
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Corey Allen had a season-high 29 points as Georgia State edged past Appalachian State 71-66 in the Sun Belt Conference tournament’s semifinals on Sunday night.
Allen hit 6 of 9 3-pointers. He added eight assists and six rebounds.
Eliel Nsoseme had 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Georgia State (17-10). Jalen Thomas added 11 points. Kane Williams had six assists.
Adrian Delph had 25 points for the Mountaineers (19-14). Michael Almonacy added 14 points. RJ Duhart had nine rebounds and three blocks.
