SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Playing its third game of the week and second in less than 72 hours, Longwood had no answer for the USC Upstate duo of Deion Holmes and Malik Moore and fell on the Spartans' home court, 80-63, Saturday evening at the Hodge Center.
 
In the first meeting between the teams in nearly three decades, Holmes scored a game-high 20 points, and Moore poured in 16 with three assists. Everette Hammond also added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting to lead a 33-point effort from the Spartan bench.
 
USC Upstate (6-17, 1-7 Big South) controlled both sides of the court, holding the Lancers (13-10, 3-5 Big South) to four three-pointers and a season-low .148 (4-of-27) three-point percentage while forcing 18 turnovers that were Longwood's most in Big South play.
 
The loss ends a grueling stretch for both Longwood and USC Upstate, who have each played their first eight Big South games in a 22-day span that began on Jan. 5. Despite dropping their first seven of those to start the conference schedule, the Spartans lost just four of those games by single digits before picking up their first Big South win in program history Saturday.
 
"I really don't know what to say. This was just a very, very disappointing showing and performance," said Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich.
 
"Our program right now is struggling with consistency. You have to compete. You have to compete night in and night out, and I think every 50-50 ball went to Upstate. They pushed us on the offensive rebounds, they were more aggressive defensively. Credit them for attacking. The problem is when you don't come out with that competitive fire, then they start to gain comfort and say, 'Oh wait, we can compete with these guys. And not only can we compete with them, we can inflict our will on them.'"
 
USC Upstate became only the fourth team this season to score 80 points against Longwood, doing so behind 12 three-pointers and 20 points off turnovers. Moore, the conference's eighth-leading scorer, hit four of those while Holmes hit three as the Spartans shot 12-of-28 from beyond the arc.
 
Longwood struggled to match up with USC Upstate on the perimeter, going 0-for-12 from long range during a 19-point first half.
 
The defeat was only the fourth double-digit loss of the season for the Lancers, who snapped a two-game losing streak Thursday night with a 55-51 win over High Point but failed to lead at all during Saturday's matchup against the Spartans.
 
"We really fell apart on our principles, and it was a complete collapse on our offensive principles," Aldrich said. "In probably about the first 15 minutes, every person who caught the ball tried to dribble it. We had one pass and then tried to drive it into the lane. That's just not how we play. If we do that, we're not going to be successful in many games going forward."
 
Longwood had four players score in double figures, led by freshman Gus Okafor and redshirt senior Isaiah Walton who scored 12 points apiece off the bench. Starters Shabooty Phillips and JaShaun Smith added 10 points each, but only Smith was Longwood's only player to hit more field goals than he missed, finishing 4-of-7.
 
The Lancers shot under 35.0 percent from the floor for the second straight game, but unlike Thursday's win over High Point, Longwood's Big South-leading defense could not contain USC Upstate on the other end.
 
"If you're intense about each possession, you're therefore making sure you're executing on the details and executing on what the coaching staff has asked you to do," Aldrich said. "I think that's an area where our program really is lagging right now.
 
"Against High Point, you saw that. It was a battle each and every possession. Here tonight, each half, they were doing things exactly opposite of what we asked them to do and discussed. And our effort wasn't it needed to be, so that tells you that every possession doesn't matter."
 
The Lancers will now have four days to recuperate from their three-game week before hosting Big South newcomer Hampton this Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. That game will mark the end of January for the Lancers, who follow by opening February with a road trip to Campbell on Feb. 2.
 
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