SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A 50-point second half by USC Upstate was not enough on Wednesday evening as Eastern Kentucky defeated the Spartans 95-78 at the Eddie and Ann Payne arena inside the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
The game started lights out. No really, the lights would not come back on at the start of the game resulted in a 20-minute delay. The Spartans started the game off slow with a five-minute scoring drought after scoring the first two points of the concert. With less than 10 minutes left in the first half, free-throw shots from Everette Hammond ended the scoreless three-minutes for the Spartans. The first half ended with the Colonels leading the Spartans with 46-28.
 
Josh Aldrich (Wilmington, N.C.) started off the second half making with a layup for the Spartans in hopes of changing the momentum of the game. With a field-goal percentage of less than 40 in the first half, the Spartans turned the curve and shot much better in the second half.
 
Trailing 69-39 at the 12:46 mark of the second half the Spartans began to make a move and went on a 20-6 run, capped off by an Everette Hammond (Silver Springs, Md.) three-pointer. However, it was to little to late as the Colonels capitalized on second chance points and points off of turnovers to keep their lead and secure the win.
 
"I'm proud of my guys. They kept fighting. "USC Upstate coach Stacey Palmore said, "We beat them the second half. They just beat us the first half by greater."
 
Tommy Bruner (Columbia, SC) led the Spartans with 19 points. Hammond contributed 13 points and Bryson Mozone (North Augusta, SC) finished the game with 10 points. Hammond and
Khydarius Smith (Fort Mill, SC) tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven.
 
Michael Moreno and Jomaru Brown tied for the team lead in points for Eastern Kentucky with 18 a piece. Tre King finished the game with 16 points. King was also the leading rebounder (7). Russhard Cruickshank contributed 10 points. Wendell Green Jr. had 12 points.
 
The USC Upstate men's basketball team will be hosting the Georgia Southern Eagles this upcoming Saturday at 6pm.
 
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