HIGH POINT — 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 kept it going after halftime. They pushed their lead to 25 points within the first four minutes and they led by at least 25 throughout the final nine minutes.
Napper had 10 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for Longwood (21-13). Szymon Zapala had 17 points and seven 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 on the way to a 42-24 halftime lead. Zapala scored 10 points, and Napper had six assists. A 13-0 run led to a 22-6 advantage and the Lancers led by at least 13 points for the remainder of the half.
CAA Conference Tournament
Towson 65, UNC Wilmington 56
Dylan Williamson had 18 points in fifth-seeded Towson’s 66-56 victory over fourth-seeded UNC Wilmington on Sunday in the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament.
Nendah Tarke added 15 points with five rebounds. Mekhi Lowery finished with 10 points.
Trazarien White led the way for the Seahawks (21-10) with 24 points. Shykeim Phillips added 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals for UNC Wilmington. KJ Jenkins also put up eight points.
Sun Belt Tournament
Arkansas State 67, Appalachian State 65
PENSACOLA, Fla.— Caleb Fields scored 23 points to lead the Arkansas State Red Wolves and Freddy Hicks hit the game-winning jump shot just before the buzzer as the Red Wolves knocked off the top-seeded Appalachian State Mountaineers 67-65 in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Mountaineers (27-6) were led in scoring by Terence Harcum, who finished with 15 points. Myles Tate added 11 points for Appalachian State. Justin Abson had 10 points and seven rebounds. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Mountaineers.
ACC Women’s Tournament
Notre Dame 55, NC State 51
Star freshman Hannah Hildalgo had 22 points as No. 14 Notre Dame held off No. 10 North Carolina State 55-51 in Sunday’s championship game at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. It marked the Irish’s first title since 2019. Hildalgo was named the tournament’s most valuable player after tallying six rebounds and six assists. Maddy Westbeld added 16 points for the fourth-seeded Irish. It also marked the first ACC Tournament title for fourth-year coach Niele Ivey. River Baldwin scored 14 points to lead the second-seeded Wolfpack. N.C. State was chasing its fourth title in five years.
Southern Conference Women’s Tournament
Chattanooga 69, UNC Greensboro 60
Jada Quinn scored 18 of her 32 points in the fourth quarter to lead Chattanooga to its 20th Southern Conference Tournament championship and 17th NCAA Tournament berth with a 69-60 win over UNC Greensboro. The top-seeded Mocs took the lead for good early in the second quarter but couldn’t put away the second-seeded Spartans. Both times UNCG got within a point in the third quarter, Guinn answered and then she took over in the fourth quarter. Guinn had a pair of three-point plays down the stretch and had a basket in isolation that all but clinched it with 39.2 seconds left. She added two free throws to close out the Mocs’ second straight championship. Ayanna Khalfani had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead the Spartans.
