SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate Spartans finished their weekend of play against the Winthrop Eagles losing 107-77 at the Eddie and Ann Payne arena inside the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
The Spartans started the contest riddled with turnovers, while the Eagles could not miss a shot and went on an 8-0 run. After 1:30 in the first half, it was Tommy Bruner (Columbia, SC) who scored the first points for the Spartans. Bryson Mozone (North Augusta, SC) contributed an "and one" triple at 15:22 in the first half. Bruner's offensive efforts in the first half going 6-10 kept the Spartans in the game.
 
After the flagrant technical by Eagles' Toneari Lane and his ejection, the Spartans turned up on the offensive side. The Spartans took their first lead of the weekend match-up at 7:58 in the first half with a jumper by Dalvin White (Norcross, Ga.) to bring the score to 23-22. However, the Eagles' second-chance points due to outrebounding the Spartans helped them take the lead again ending the half up 48-35.
 
The Spartans fought to close the gap with Mozone's back-to-back three pointers in the first two minutes of the half. The Eagles were still not giving up expanding their lead by hitting numerous triples throughout the half. The Spartans' turnovers in the second half led to 26 points for the Eagles. The Eagles moved in transition giving them 41 fast break points in the half.
 
"The result wasn't what I wanted. Winthrop is a really good team. There's probably not another team in the country that plays as many guys. It keeps you off-balance in terms of match-ups." USC Upstate coach Stacey Palmore said, "Going forward we're gonna need more guys to step up and make bigger contributions. We've played a really good schedule so far. Going forward, we're just trying to get better. Adversity either reveals character or builds character."
 
Bruner ended the contest as the Spartans' leading scorer with 21. Mozone finished with 20 points, with 15 points being triples. Khydarius Smith (Fort Mill, SC) was the leading rebounder (6) and averaging 2 blocks for the season.
 
Adonis Arms led the Eagles with 17 points. DJ Burns Jr finished with 16 points. Chandler Vaudrin contributed a triple double for the Eagles ending the contest with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. Vaudrin was the leading rebounder. Josh Corbin contributed 15 points and Charles Falden finished with 13 points.
 
UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans will be traveling to Greensboro, NC, to play the UNC Greensboro Spartans next Tuesday at 7pm.
 
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