FARMVILLE, Va. – Playing in front of a national audience in the Big South's ESPNU Wildcard Series for the first time since 2019-20, USC Upstate men's basketball's shot 50-plus percent from the field for the fifth time during conference play but was unable to overcome an equally as hot-shooting Longwood team in an 85-72 setback Thursday night.
 
Shooting 55.4 percent from the field, knocking down 31-of-56 shot attempts, the Spartans posted their second-best field goal percentage of the season. Each of Upstate's double-figure scorers, freshman guard Jordan Gainey (.556; 5-of-9), senior forward Bryson Mozone (.636; 7-of-11), and senior forward Josh Aldrich (.500; 5-of-10), exceeded 50 percent shooting from the floor.
 
Scoring each of his team-high points in the first half, Gainey tallied double-figures for the 12^th straight game, scoring 14 or more points in each of Upstate's first 11 Big South games. Mozone reached double-figures for the fifth consecutive game, posting 14 points while Aldrich scored in double-figures with 11 points, posting his sixth double-figure scoring game of the season.
 
Game Information
Score: Longwood 85; USC Upstate 72
Records: USC Upstate (10-13; 7-4 Big South); Longwood (18-5; 10-0 Big South)
Location: Willett Hall | Farmville, Va.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Jumping out to an early and its largest advantage of the game, Upstate outscored Longwood 8-3 over the game's first minute-and-a-half. Khydarius Smith opened the game's scoring with a dunk before Jordan Gainey drained back-to-back threes to answer a Lancer triple.
• Flipping the momentum of a multiple possession scoring discrepancy in a scoring run, the Lancers followed Upstate's 8-3 run with a 9-2 scoring advantage of their own. Bryson Mozone split a 5-0 and 4-0 scoring run from Longwood with a jumper, keeping Upstate within a possession with just over 15 minutes to play in the half.
• Over the next eight minutes of the half, Upstate and Longwood remained in lockstep with one another to keep the game within a single possession with 7:55 to play in the half. The Spartans outscored the Lancers 18-15 during the stretch to carry a one-point lead.
• Behind the longest scoring run of the game, 9-0, Longwood regained the lead for the final time, hitting three consecutive threes.
• Left with just five seconds on the clock following a Lancer free throw, Dalvin White drove the length of the floor to beat the halftime buzzer with a deep three. His three cut Longwood's advantage to five heading into the locker room.

Second Half

• Keeping Longwood's lead in single digits, Upstate stayed even with its foe as the two teams opened the second half with an 8-8 stalemate heading into the under-16 media timeout. Holding the deficit at five points, Khydarius Smith threw down another dunk for the Spartans to cap the scoring into the media timeout.
• Building the lead to double digits for the first time in the game, Longwood crafted its largest scoring run of the second half behind a 7-0 stretch, pushing the lead to 12 with 12:44 to play. Cutting the lead back to single digits, Upstate used an 11-5 scoring stretch over the next four minutes to trim the Lancers' advantage to six.
• Extending its scoring stretch to 19-11 over an eight-minute stretch of the second half, Upstate cut Longwoods advantage to two possessions with just over four minutes remaining. Josh Aldrich led the stretch, scoring nine of his 11 points over the eight-minute span.
• Closing the game, the Lancers finished on a 10-4 scoring advantage to push the lead back to double figures. Longwood scored eight of its 10 points from the free throw line over the final two minutes with the two teams combining to score 10 of the final 14 points from the charity stripe.

 
Notable

• Shooting 55.4 percent from the field Thursday night, Upstate secured its fifth 50-plus percent shooting game during Big South play. The Spartans have shot 40 percent or better from the field in each of the past 13 games, including all 11 games during conference play.
• Leading Upstate with 16 points Thursday, Jordan Gainey reached double-figures for the 12^th consecutive game. Through 11 games during Big South play, he's scored 14 or more points in each of the 11 games, scoring 16 or more in 10 of the 11 league games.
• Passing out a team-high-tying five assists, Dalvin White has dished out four or more helpers in eight of his 10 Big South games this season.

 
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