BUIES CREEK, N.C. – With Big South Championship seeding at stake, Campbell hosts Longwood Saturday in a 4:30 p.m. tip on ESPN3.
 
The Camels (15-11, 8-7 Big South) have alternated wins and losses in their last eight games, most recently a 68-66 setback Wednesday at Hampton.  Cedric Henderson, Jr. scored 23 points and Ricky Clemons matched his season high with 18 for CU, which rallied in the final minutes to tie the game, but Russell Dean hit a pull up jumper with 1.3 seconds left for the win.
 
Longwood (22-6, 14-1) has won its last 4 games and clinched the top seed in next week's Big South Championship at Charlotte.  The Lancers are coming off a 71-66 win Wednesday over Radford.
 

• With a win over Longwood and a Gardner-Webb victory Saturday over USC Upstate, the Camels would secure the fourth seed - and a first-round bye - in the Big South tournament.
• Saturday's game marks the final home contest for a quartet of Camel seniors - Cedric Henderson, Jr., Austin McCullough, Milos Stajcic and Jordan Whitfield.  The group led CU to the 2021 Big South title game, 47 wins over the last 3 years and 67 victories - plus the 2019 Big South regular season crown - over the last 4 seasons.
• The top four teams in the league standings will receive a bye into the quarterfinals of next week's Big South Championship at Bojangles' Arena in Charlotte.  With one regular season games remaining, Longwood (14-1), Winthrop (13-2) and Gardner-Webb (11-4) have already secured three of the spots, while USC Upstate (9-6), Campbell (8-7) and UNC Asheville (7-8) are competing for the final bye.
• Last month at Farmville, Va., Longwood shot 73 percent in the second half and defeated Campbell 72-64.  The Lancers made 6-of-10 threes and 16-of-22 shots overall (.727) after intermission to overcome a nine-point deficit early in the final period. Jordan Perkins came off the bench to lead Longwood with 14 points.  Leslie Nkereuwem, Isaiah Wilkins and Justin Hill added 12 each for the Lancers, who shot 55 percent for the game.  Austin McCullough led Campbell with a season-high 17 points.  Jordan Whitfield added 16 for the Camels, who shot 57 percent in the opening period, but just 41 percent after halftime.
• CU has held 20 of its 26 opponents below 70 points and ranks 1st in the Big South, 21st in the nation, in scoring defense (62.0).
• Campbell stands 6-3 vs. North Division opponents - the losses coming Jan. 19 at league leader Longwood (64-72), at Radford (67-71) and at Hampton (66-68).  Longwood is 8-1 vs. the North Division foes, the only loss coming Feb. 12 at NC A&T (62-70).
• The Camels are 9-3 at home this season, 5-2 vs. Big South opponents at Gore Arena.  Longwood is 6-5 on the road, but 6-1 in Big South games away from home.
• Four Camels rank among the Big South's top 30 scorers - Cedric Henderson (10th, 14.1), Jordan Whitfield (24th, 11.2), Ricky Clemons (26th, 10.1) and Jesus Carralero (30th, 9.6).
• Longwood leads the Big South in scoring offense (76.7) with a balanced approach.  Led by Justin Hill (13.8) and Wake Forest transfer Isaiah Wilkins (12.7), the Lancers have four players averaging at least 9.4 points.
• Longwood ranks 21st in the nation in rebound margin (+6.6) and 26th in offensive rebounds (12.46).
• Following Saturday's game, the Camels open play in the Big South Championship next week at Bojangles' Arena in Charlotte.  If the Camels are seeded fourth, they will play in Friday's 2 p.m. quarterfinal game.  If they are seeded fifth or sixth, they will play in Wednesday's first round at either 2 p.m. or 8 p.m.

 
CAMPBELL vs. LONGWOOD NOTES

• Campbell has won five of the last eight games (but dropped the last two) in the series with Longwood, which joined the Big South in 2012-13.
• The Camels have won 4-straight against Longwood at Gore Arena.
• The Lancers were picked to finish second behind Campbell in the North Division of the Big South preseason poll, but won 14 of their first 15 league games to clinch the top seed in the conference tournament and North Division title.
• After averaging 18 points and 6.3 rebounds in a 3 Lancer wins, Isaiah Wilkins was named Big South player of the week on Monday for the 2nd time this season.
• Longwood leads the Big South in scoring (76.7), scoring margin (+11.2), rebound margin (+6.6), assists (14.6), offensive rebounds (12.5) and offensive rebound percentage (.373).
• Three of Longwood's starters - Isaiah Wilkins (Virginia Tech/Wake Forest), DeShaun Wade (East Carolina), Zac Watson (UC Riverside) - and four other Lancers - Jordan Perkins (NC Central), Prosper Obidiebube (Chattanooga), DA Houston (College of Charleston) and Michael Christmas (James Madison) - began their careers at other Division I schools.
• The late Jerome Kersey, a 17-year (1984-2001) NBA veteran, was a two-time Division II All-American at Longwood from 1980-84.  He made two trips to the NBA finals with the Portland Trail Blazers (1990, 1992) and won an NBA title as a member of the 1999 San Antonio Spurs.
• Other notable Longwood alumni include 12-year MLB veteran Michael Tucker ('93), 18-year LPGA tour member Tina Barrett ('88), singer/songwriter Jason Mraz and Eva Mae Fleming Scott ('47), the first woman elected to the Virginia senate.
• Longwood was founded in 1839 as the Farmville Female Seminary Association, later became Longwood College (1949-2002) and gained university status in 2002.  The school first admitted male students in 1968 and became fully coeducational in 1976.