FARMVILLE, Va. – On the road for the first time in the regular season's final month and facing the team's longest Big South road trip, USC Upstate men's basketball picked up a crucial road victory over Longwood in the team's first foray into the Joan Perry Brock Center. The Spartans completed the season sweep of the Lancers, withstanding a late flurry from Longwood in a 69-64 win Wednesday evening.
 
After seeing the season's first meeting decided in the final seconds on Jan. 17 inside the G.B. Hodge Center, Wednesday's game tightened in the final minutes but was decided much earlier as a technical foul with 3:16 to play in the second half created a six-point swing for the Spartans that delivered a lead they'd not relinquish—even against Longwood's late-game pressure.
 
Trailing 60-59 with 3:16 to play, sophomore guard Justin Bailey drove the lane and drew a foul from Longwood's Szymon Zapala to earn two free throws before a technical foul assessed to Lancer head coach Griff Aldrich turned the two free throws into four. Graduate student guard Miguel Ayesa stepped to the line to can both technical free throws and Bailey, subsequently, drained his, giving the ball back to Upstate where redshirt senior forward Ahmir Langlais drained a hook shot to complete the six-point swing.
 
Leading all scorers, redshirt junior guard Trae Broadnax secured his fourth 20-plus point scoring game of the year, tallying 20 points behind a 7-of-9 shooting performance—the second-best single-game field goal percentage (77.8) of his career. Bailey and Langlais joined him in double-figures, posting 14 and 12 markers, respectively, while redshirt sophomore guard Jalen Brezeale passed out a career-high seven assists to pace the offense.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 69; Longwood 64
Records: USC Upstate (8-15; 3-7 Big South); Longwood (14-11; 2-8 Big South)
Location: Joan Perry Brock Center | Farmville, Va.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Breaking open the game's scoring, Trae Broadnax hit a pull-up jumper just outside the paint to give Upstate the early lead before Longwood fashioned an 8-0 scoring run to gain the advantage for the first time. The Spartans answered with a 6-0 stretch bookended by Nick Alves who punctuated the run with a one-handed tomahawk slam.
• With the game tied, both teams went blow-for-blow with one another as the game remained tied, this time at 12 points, with 11:42 to play. Longwood countered the deadlock with another long scoring run, dropping nine straight points to build the largest lead of the first half.
• Snapping the scoring stretch by the Lancers, Justin Bailey knocked down the Spartans' first triple of the half as Upstate began digging into the advantage. The triple kickstarted Upstate's offense, leading to a 15-4 scoring stretch that delivered the Spartans' the upon its culmination at the under-four stoppage with Broadnax leading the stretch with six markers.
• Building upon the team's lead and fashioning an advantage at the break, Upstate held Longwood without a field goal for over six minutes, limiting the Lancers to five points from the free-throw line to close out the half. The Spartans posted 10 points in the final four minutes of the period, draining a pair of triples to hold a seven-point lead at the break.

 
Second Half

• Adding to its 6-0 run to close the half, Upstate pushed its scoring run to a game-long eight points as Broadnax opened a second consecutive half with a pull-up jumper as Upstate built its largest lead of the game at nine points. Longwood began chipping away at the Spartans' advantage as it scored seven of the next nine points to answer the opening score of the half, pulling the lead to four.
• Following an Ahmir Langlais bucket, the Lancers posted a 6-0 scoring run to erase the Spartans' lead and force Upstate into taking a timeout. Miguel Ayesa snapped the scoring run with a three-pointer to begin a stretch that saw the lead going back and forth, changing hands five times into the under-four media stoppage.
• With Upstate trailing by one with 3:16 to play, Bailey drove to the hole, drawing a foul and earning two trips to the charity stripe. However, before he could step to the line to knock down his free throws, Longwood was assessed a technical foul, doubling the Spartans' attempts from the line as Ayesa drained the two technical free throws before Bailey nailed his two attempts to give Upstate the lead for the final time.
• Upstate built upon the four free throws to create a 7-0 scoring run and hold a six-point lead with 1:27 to play in regulation before the Lancers worked the deficit down to three with 44 seconds to play. Facing a full-court press, the Spartans withstood the pressure, two turnovers, and two jump ball situations as Broadnax iced the game with a pair of free throws at the nine-second mark.

 
Notable

• Outlasting Longwood to the tune of a 69-65 victory, Upstate earned its first road victory during Big South play, its first road victory in conference play since Feb. 22, 2023, at Presbyterian. The win also allowed the Spartans to complete the season sweep over the Lancers since the 2020-21 season.
• Shooting 7-of-9 from the field on the night, Trae Broadnax crafted the second-best single-game field goal percent (77.8) of his career against Longwood. His career-best shooting performance came in a 20-point game at Campbell on Feb. 1, 2023, finishing 8-of-10 from the field.
• Passing out seven of the team's 10 assists versus the Lancers, Jalen Breazeale established a career-high in the statistical category, breaking the five-assists barrier—he entered the game with six five-assist games—for the first time in his career. The game marked the fourth for the Spartans this season with a player recording seven or more assists with Brezeale joining Broadnax (three times) in accomplishing the feat.
• Hitting seven threes Wednesday versus Longwood, Upstate improved its streak of consecutive games with at least one made-three pointer to 895 games, a streak dating back to the 1994-95 season. The stretch also includes each of the Spartans' 526 games at the NCAA Division I level (2007-pres.).

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Ending a stretch of games against the Big South's Virginia contingent, Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center to face another regional conference rival. The Spartans host UNC Asheville in the second meeting of the Ingles I-26 Rivalry Series Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.
 
Donate to the I-26 Rivalry Canned Food Drive supporting Miracle Hill Ministries
Support USC Upstate Athletics and Miracle Hill Ministries by donating canned and non-perishable food items for the Ingles I-26 Rivalry Canned Food Drive through February 10. A competition between USC Upstate and UNC Asheville, the school collecting the most donations will win three bonus points in the yearlong rivalry series. For rivalry series details and donation drop-off locations, click here. Make your donations of three or more canned or non-perishable food items at the home basketball games on Feb. 10 and be entered to win USC Upstate gear, gift cards, and other prizes! Stop by the Ingles Marketing Tent in the lobby of the Hodge Center for more details.
 
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