SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Entering the night seeking its first Big South victory, USC Upstate men's basketball secured said victory as it saw the game's lone lead change tilt in its favor as it finished its valorous comeback with a stick-back with 1.5 seconds to play, downing Longwood 73-71 Wednesday evening at the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
Trailing by as many as 14 in the second half, Upstate turned to its spartan defense as the final 10 minutes of the game dwindled, chipping into the deficit by holding the Lancers to just 3-of-9 shooting over the final eight minutes of play while forcing a pair of crucial turnovers. Redshirt junior guard Trae Broadnax tied the game at 71 with a layup against contact to prepare for the culmination of the comeback.
 
Upon making a defensive stand, remaining sternly disciplined to force a wild Longwood shot attempt, the Spartans flipped the court to set the stage for their only lead of the night. Coming off a screen and getting his way downhill, Broadnax offered up a shot that caught enough of the iron to careen away from the hoop, however, redshirt senior forward Ahmir Langlais was there, crashing the glass and tipping the carom home for the game-winner.
 
Broadnax and Langlais comprised half of the Spartans' quartet of double-figure scorers, dropping 16 and 13 points, respectively, while combining to go 13-of-20 from the floor. Joining the duo in scoring 10 or more points on the night, sophomore guard Justin Bailey added 16 points and graduate student guard Miguel Ayesa added 11 points, rounding out the quartet.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 73; Longwood 71
Records: USC Upstate (6-11; 1-3 Big South); Longwood (13-7; 1-4 Big South)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Corralling a rebound off a shot attempt afforded by a Longwood turnover, the Lancers cracked the scoring column first, taking a lead it would hold for the remainder of the half. Trae Broadnax scored the first of his 16 markers with a layup to tie the game before Longwood notched the next five points into the under-16 media timeout.
• Out of the media stoppage, Eduardo Placer drove the bucket, flipping home a hook shot to start a four-point swing in the favor of the Spartans, pulling within one as Justin Bailey added a layup. Longwood answered with consecutive three-pointers, fashioning the first of the team's longest scoring runs of the game.
• Withstanding several leads from the Lancers and pulling the Spartans back within a possession of regaining the lead, Bailey scored 12 straight points for Upstate over a six-minute stretch of the first half, finishing the half 5-of-5 from the field. Heading into the final four minutes of the first half, Upstate pulled itself within one on three occasions, twice off a Bailey field goal.
• Spanning the final media timeout of the half, Longwood fashioned another 6-0 scoring run as it pushed its advantage to double-figures for the first time. Off the scoring run, the two sides equaled one another—scoring six points apiece—as the Lancers carried a 10-point lead into the break.

 
Second Half

• Opening the second half, Longwood pushed its advantage to as many as 14 as it outscored Upstate eight to four ahead of the first media timeout. The Lancers headed into the stoppage on another 6-0 scoring run before running the lead back to 14 one final time with 15 minutes remaining in the half.
• Fighting back from the largest deficit of the game, Upstate laid the foundation for its comeback between the under-16 and under-eight media timeouts as the Spartans outpaced the Lancer 22-12 over the stretch. The Spartans held Longwood to 1-of-6 from the floor over the eight-minute stretch as it trimmed the lead. The Lancers held their advantage as despite their shooting woes, they found themselves going 10-for-12 from the charity stripe.
• Cutting the lead to three heading into the final media stoppage of the night, the Spartans continued to fight out of the timeout, answering each Longwood score with one of its own, keeping within striking distance. Seeing the Lancers grow the lead to four, Miguel Ayesa knocked down a corner three to pull back within one before Broadnax answered the nest Longwood score with a free throw and layup to tie the game at 71.
• Upon making a defensive stand, remaining sternly disciplined to force a wild Longwood shot attempt, the Spartans flipped the court to set the stage for their only lead of the night. Coming off a screen and getting his way downhill, Broadnax offered up a shot that caught enough of the iron to careen away from the hoop, however, Langlais was there, crashing the glass and tipping the carom home for the game-winner.

 
Notable

• Crashing the boards and putting home the game-winner, Ahmir Langlais secured his second game-winner of the season. He also hit the game-winner for the Spartans against North Carolina Central, hitting a layup off a pick-and-roll from Trae Broadnax.
• Tying a career-high with eight assists against Longwood, Broadnax recorded his sixth game of the season with five or more assists, his most since passing out seven helpers versus North Carolina Central. His eight assists mark the most for a Spartan since he passed out eight assists against Coastal Carolina on Nov. 18, 2022.
• Hitting eight threes versus Longwood, Upstate improved its streak of consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer to 889 games, a streak dating back to the 1994-95 season. The streak includes each of the Spartans' 520 games at the NCAA Division I level (2007-pres.).
• With Jeremy Clements and his No. 51 Xfinity Chevrolet in attendance, Upstate improve to 2-0 with Clements and his car at the G.B. Hodge Center with both wins featuring a second-half comeback from the Spartans. Last season, the Spartans completed a comeback against Presbyterian, claiming a 61-60 victory.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Continuing the alternating pace of the team's schedule, Upstate returns to the road as it head north to the Commonwealth of Virginia to complete the stretch of teams from the state. The Spartans face Radford Saturday with tip-off slated for 2 p.m. ET.
 
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