HIGH POINT, N.C. – In the final four minutes of the game the Spartans offense was only able to score a trio of points as High Point handed USC Upstate a 62-54 loss on Saturday night at the Millis Center.
USC Upstate (11-16, 6-8 BSC) won the opening tip-off but it was High Point (8-19, 5-9 BSC) who scored the opening bucket of the game.
Tommy Bruner (Columbia, S.C.) scored the first points of the game for USC Upstate and jumped started a 9-0 run by the Spartan offense.
The Spartans kept the pressure on High Point and at the 10:38 mark of the period,
Everette Hammond knocked down a jumper in the paint to give USC Upstate a 15-7 lead. Throughout the half the Spartans held the lead and fended off High Point runs with ease. The Panthers went on a late run at the end of the period to cut into the Spartans lead. Going into the halftime break USC Upstate led 30-28.
The second half was a different story, however, for the Spartans as High Point came out and scored the tying basket on the opening possession. The Panthers never looked back as they took a 39-36 lead with 15:14 remaining in the contest. For the remainder of the half the Spartans had to play catch-up and they were never able to capitalize on scoring droughts by High Point.
Notes
Upstate- Tommy Bruner led all scorers with 23-points in the match, while
Nevin Zink recorded his second consecutive double-double. Zink is the first player to accomplish this feat since
Malik Moore had three double-doubles from December 1, 2018 – December 8, 2018.
High Point – A trio of Panthers ended the game in double-figures with John-Michael Wright leading the way with 18-points. Eric Coleman Jr., scored 16-points and Jamal Wright added 10-points in the win.
UP next for the Spartans
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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