FARMVILLE, Va. – Sophomore center Nevin Zink scored a career high 21-points on Saturday afternoon as USC Upstate defeated Longwood University 73-56 as the Spartans won their fourth game in five tries.
 
USC Upstate (6-9, 1-1 BSC) and Longwood (5-10, 0-2 BSC) battled in the opening moments of the game with each team going shot-for-shot with the other. At the first break in the action the Spartans held an 8-6 lead and then capitalized on their momentum coming out of the timeout break. USC Upstate led 14-9 with 14:17 to play in the first half behind six points from Nevin Zink. A big part of the Spartans success in the opening 10 minutes of action were rebounds. USC Upstate outrebounded Longwood 13-5.
 
USC Upstate kept up the pressure on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball and held a 29-17 advantage with 6:20 remaining in the half. Seven different Spartans scored and they won the battle on the glass with 20 rebounds. Longwood began to make a move but USC Upstate countered quickly with a 5-0 run to maintain a 36-24 advantage with 3:53 to play in the half. The Spartans took a 42-29 lead into the halftime break.
 
Zink led all scorers with a season high 15-points in the opening half. The sophomore center went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Tommy Bruner contributed 7-points in the opening half while Thomas Booker added 6-points. Jaylon Wilson and Juan Munoz both had seven first half points for the Lancers.
 
The Spartans were first to use an early timeout in the second half as Longwood went on an early 5-0 run to cut the Spartans lead down to single digits. Bryson Mozone knocked down the Spartans first bucket of the second half with 16:57 remaining in the game. The three-pointer sparked an 8-0 Spartan run as USC Upstate led 50-34 with 14:17 left in the half.
 
After both teams went on a bit of a scoreless drought the Spartans offense picked right back up. Zink tied his career high in points (18) with 8:56 remaining in the contest. Thomas Booker had a season high 12-points at the under eight media timeout. The Spartans held off a late Longwood run and ended the game on a 10-2 run to come away with a 73-56 victory.
 
Notes

Upstate – Zink led all scorers with 21-points on Saturday afternoon. Over half of the points came at the free throw line as Zink recorded a career best 11 made free throws.
 
Thomas Booker scored a season best 12-points in the victory, while both Bryson Mozone and Tommy Bruner reached double-figures for the second straight game. Bruner registered a career best five assists in the win. Everette Hammond recorded a career high 10-rebounds and tied his career high with four steals in the contest.

Longwood – Juan Munoz recorded a team high 14-points and five steals in the game. Jaylon Wilson was the only other scorer to reach double figures in the contest.

UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans next game will be against Hampton on Wednesday, January 8, 2020. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. inside the G.B. Hodge Center.

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