SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate junior guard Dalvin White (Norcross, Ga.) scored a career high 20-points on Tuesday night as the Spartans defeated Longwood 65-59 inside the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
"In the first half, our defense was okay. Longwood made some baskets early in the second half. Overall, we got stops when we needed to. This was an overall good defensive effort. To be able to have the opportunity to win three games in a row, we had to seize the opportunity. We shot free throws well again tonight but shot ourselves in the foot offensively when we had the lead." USC Upstate coach Stacey Palmore said, "Going forward we have to keep going. With fewer active players, everyone has to just be ready to play. Fortunately, we were able to change how we play a little bit. Not a normal line up so to speak. It gave some guys some time to step up in crucial moments."
 
USC Upstate (3-9, 3-3 BSC) is currently riding a three-game winning streak their first of the season and their longest since a three game winning streak between January 25 – February 1, 2020 of last season. Longwood (2-10, 1-5 BSC) meanwhile, has managed just one win in their last four games against Big South opponents.
 
The Spartans won the opening tip and sophomore guard Tommy Bruner (Columbia, S.C.) scored on a jumper from inside the paint to give the Spartans the first score of the game. Seconds later, Bruner stole the ball from DeShaun Wade and passed the ball ahead to Everette Hammond (Silver Springs, Md.) who found White in the corner for a three-pointer and the Spartans held a 5-0 lead early in the first half.
 
Longwood countered with a 7-0 run over the next few possessions as the Spartan offense was quieted by the Lancer defense. Bruner found White again for an open three-pointer as the Spartans ended their scoring drought and retook an 8-7 lead over the Lancers.
 
Following a four minute offensive drought by both sides the two teams went into the under-12 media timeout tied at 10. With 8:24 to play in the opening period, Bruner hit a three-pointer and gave USC Upstate a 15-14 advantage. The basket kick-started a 10-0 run for the Spartan offense as they took a 24-14 lead with just 4:17 to play in the opening half.
 
Longwood countered with a small run before the halftime break, but USC Upstate held a 30-24 edge going into the intermission. Bruner led all-scorers with 10 first half points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field against the Lancers. Upstate finished the first half shooting 48 percent from the field and held Longwood to just 38 percent shooting.
 
Longwood came out fired up in the second half and took advantage of a few Spartan miscues. The Lancers 9-2 run in the first three minutes of the half allowed Longwood to take a 33-32 lead over USC Upstate. A quick Spartan run from White and Nevin Zink (Newtown, Conn.) allowed USC Upstate to retake a 39-33 advantage with 15:36 to play in the contest.
 
Over the next several minutes of playing time, the two squads traded scoring runs with one another. Longwood pulled within three points at the 11:47 mark before the Spartans went on a 15-8 run to take a 57-47 advantage with 4:49 to play in the game.
 
The double-digit lead for the Spartans did not last long however, as the Lancers lingered around longer than Upstate had hoped. With just 30 seconds to play in the contest, Wade hit a three-pointer from the top of the key and the Lancers trailed 61-59. Upstate stayed composed down the stretch as Bruner hit four free throws to seal the game for the Spartans.
 
White shot 67 percent as the leading scorer for the Spartans with 20 points, which is also his career high. Bruner contributed 18 points. Everette Hammond (Silver Spring, MD) finished with 11 points. Zink led the team in rebounds (7).
 
For Longwood, Wade was the lead scorer with 13 points. Juan Monoz had 11 points, while Jesper Granlund had 10 points. Zac Watson contributed 6 rebounds to the contest.
  
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