SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Sophomore forwards Bryson Mozone and Nevin Zink each recorded their first career double-double on Monday night as USC Upstate came away with a 66-52 victory over Charleston Southern inside the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
USC Upstate (11-15, 6-7 BSC) won the opening tip-off and Josh Aldrich scored the first points of the game with a three-pointer. Moments later Khydarius Smith recorded a fast break layup and the Spartans held an early 5-2 advantage over Charleston Southern (12-13, 6-7 BSC).
 
With 13:51 to play in the half Phlandrous Fleming Jr., recorded his second foul of the game and he was forced to sit for the majority of the half. With the Buccaneers leading scorer sidelined the Spartans looked to take advantage of Charleston Southern.
 
Trailing by three with 9:20 remaining in the period, Zink slammed the ball through the net to energize the crowd and the Spartans. Two possessions later and Zink threw it down again as the Spartans began to feed off the energy. A tip-in layup by Zink with 7:00 minutes to played capped off a personal 6-0 run and the Spartans held an 18-17 advantage as Charleston Southern was forced to use a timeout.  
 
At the 3:05 mark of the period the game was tied at 23 after an Everette Hammond layup. The Spartans ended the period on an 8-2 run, capped off by a Bryson Mozone buzzer beating three-pointer. Entering the game on Monday night the Spartans were 7-0 on the season when leading at the halftime intermission.
 
Zink led the Spartans with 10-points in the opening half and Fleming Jr. led all scorers with 11-points, despite only playing for 10 minutes in the opening period.
 
The Buccaneers came out shooting in the second half as they opened the period on a 12-4 run. The run gave Charleston Southern a 37-33 advantage with 16:00 minutes remaining in the game. The Spartans stuck around however and slowly chipped away at the Charleston Southern lead.
 
Dalvin White zipped down the lane to make a fast break layup to break a 48-48 tie with 6:18 remaining in the half. The basket sparked the Spartan offense as they never trailed the remainder of the game. Tommy Bruner knocked down a mid-range jumper to put the Spartans up 56-50 going into the under four media timeout.
 
With 2:06 to play in the game White drew contact on a three-point attempt and nailed the ensuing free throw to complete the rare four-point play. The play by White gave the Spartans a 60-50 lead and the Buccaneers were never able to recover as USC Upstate went on to win by 14-points.
 
Notes
 
Upstate- Bryson Mozone had a career day as he led the Spartans with 14-points and 14-rebounds (career high). Mozone's 13 defensive rebounds are the most by a Spartan since Malik Moore hauled in 11-defensive boards against Presbyterian a season ago. Zink contributed 13-points and a season high 11-rebounds in the victory, while Dalvin White recorded a career high 13-points. Hammond finished with 13-points and a career high 9-assists against the Buccaneers.
 
The double-doubles by Mozone and Zink are the first for a USC Upstate player this season and the first for the program since January 30, 2019.  

Charleston Southern – Fleming Jr., led all scorers with 21-points in the game, Deontaye Buskey finished second on the team with 12-points and Ty Jones contributed 11-points in the loss.
 
UP next for the Spartans
USC Upstate will hit the road this coming Saturday when they travel to High Point for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.
 
The Spartans will return home on Thursday, February 20, 2020 against Longwood University. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. inside the G.B. Hodge Center.

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