SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On a cold and rainy night in the Hub City the USC Upstate basketball team fell 68-58 to Longwood University at the Eddie and Ann Payne Arena located inside the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
USC Upstate (11-17, 6-9 BSC) got off to a slow start offensively as Longwood (12-17, 7-9 BSC) opened up the game on a 12-3 run. Dalvin White's lone three-pointer at the 16:26 mark of the half was the only Spartan field goal made in the first ten minutes of the game.
 
Trailing 16-6 with 10:47 remaining in the period, Tommy Bruner jump started the Spartans offense. USC Upstate went on an 8-2 run and closed the Lancers lead to within four points. The Spartans were unable to capitalize on the momentum and Longwood raced back out to a 28-18 advantage with 5:57 remaining in the period. Going into the halftime break the Spartans trailed 38-28 to Longwood.
 
Bruner led all scorers with 12-points in the opening half. Shabooty Phillips led the Lancers with 9-points in the first half.
 
Throughout the opening moments of the second half the Spartans trailed by as much as 14-points. Then with 14:51 to go in the half Bruner completed an old fashioned three-point play and the Spartans offense was off and running. With 12:01 left in the game Everette Hammond made a pair of free throws to cap a 14-2 run by USC Upstate.
 
Longwood's Jashaun Smith made back-to-back three-pointers to stop the Spartans run and the Lancers once again held a 56-48 advantage. For the majority of the second half the Spartans stayed within striking distances of the Lancers. A Bruner layup with 3:16 remaining in the game cut the deficit to five-points but the Spartans were unable to gain ground as Longwood connected on their free throws down the stretch.
 
Notes
 
Upstate- Tommy Bruner led the Spartans with 20-points on the night, Everette Hammond finished second on the team with 15-points and he had a game high 6-assists in the loss. Nevin Zink led the Spartans in rebounds with six second half boards.

Longwood – Four Lancers ended the night with double-digit points, Jashaun Smith, Shabooty Philips and Juan Munoz all tied for the team lead with 13-points. Leslie Nkereuwem contributed 10-points in the victory. Philips led the Lancers in rebounds with 10-boards giving him a double-double on the night.
 
UP next for the Spartans
USC Upstate will have a quick turnaround as they play at Radford on Saturday afternoon. USC Upstate will return home next Thursday to face Winthrop University. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. in the G.B. Hodge Center.  
 
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