By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — As the Big South standings take shape with two weeks left in the regular season, the USC Upstate Spartans continued to jockey for position against the Longwood Lancers in a midweek conference showdown.
It came down to the waning moments, but a stingy effort on the defensive end helped the host Spartans edge the Lancers, 72-67, in the penultimate home game for Upstate.
On Upstate’s first possession of the second half, Jordan Gainey found a wide open Jordyn Surratt for a 3-pointer that sparked an 8-0 burst and built a 43-33 Spartan lead less than two minutes into the frame. A three-point play by Nick Alves extended the Upstate lead to 49-38 a little over three minutes later.
“It was a great win for our guys, program, and this university,” USC Upstate head coach Dave Dickerson stated. “Longwood is a really good team. They put so much pressure on you offensively and defensively. I thought our guys stayed connected and composed, which gave us the opportunity to make plays on both ends of the court.”
After a slow start, the Lancers fought and clawed their way back from the double-digit deficit. DeShaun Wade scored on four straight Longwood possessions, pouring in eight points and trimming Upstate’s lead to 58-52 with 7:26 to play.
Isaiah Wilkins drilled a pair of triples in a minute span — one of which beat the shot clock — to cut the Spartan lead down to four with 1:21 remaining. With under 20 seconds remaining, a Michael Christmas layup made it a 70-67 contest.
“I’m proud of our guys for battling back there at the end and continuing to fight,” said Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich in a postgame radio interview with WVHL. “We were down 10 and got it back to a one-possession game. The problem is that we have to be a more competitive team than we were tonight. You can’t be a great team if you don’t compete on every possession.”
The trio of Trae Broadnax, Justin Bailey, and Khydarius Smith also provided a spark for the Spartans at different points of the second half. After being held scoreless for the first 15-plus minutes of the game, Bailey found a groove on the offensive end starting with a three-point play less than four minutes into the stanza. Broadnax threw down a two-handed dunk and later added a layup in heavy traffic off a Mysta Goodloe assist.
Smith converted a key one-and-one opportunity and made a nifty reverse layup in a minute span, which pushed the Upstate lead back out to eight with under six minutes remaining. With 14 seconds left and the Spartans holding onto a three-point advantage, Smith got behind the defense for a left-handed slam to seal the win.
During the latter 20 minutes of the contest, Upstate’s defense held the Lancers to 10 makes on 31 shot attempts. Dickerson was pleased with what he saw on that side of the court.
“I thought our second half defense was phenomenal,” Dickerson exclaimed. “We held them to 32 percent shooting from the field. The plays our guys made on the defensive end were just outstanding. I thought that our communication on switches was really good. We were just connected and knew what (Longwood) was doing. We talked about when we see something, we have to make the play. Our guys did a good job of having good eyes tonight.”
Four Spartans finished in double figures, led by Gainey with a game-high 20 points. Bailey scored 15 points, while Smith tallied 14, and Broadnax finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Longwood also had four in double figures, led by Wade with 14 points.
Both teams continue Big South play on Saturday as USC Upstate (13-13, 8-7 Big South) travels up to High Point for a 4 p.m. matchup, while Longwood (18-9, 10-4) hosts Radford at 3 p.m.
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