FARMVILLE, Va. – Led by a 21-point effort from sophomore center Nevin Zink, USC Upstate took control in the paint and dispatched Longwood 73-56 Saturday afternoon in Willett Hall.
 
The 6-9, 230-pound sophomore Zink was nearly perfect from the field, finishing 5-of-6 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the free throw line to power the Spartans (6-9, 1-1 Big South) to their fifth win in the past six games. All five of his field goals came on the inside to spearhead an interior effort that saw USC Upstate score 26 points in the paint and win the rebounding battle 41-27, including 10 offensive boards.
 
Zink was one of four double-digit scorers for USC Upstate, which dealt the Lancers (5-10, 0-2 Big South) only their second home loss of the season. Tommy Bruner added 14 points and five assists, and Thomas Booker and Bryson Mozone combined for 22 points off the bench.
 
That widespread scoring effort was enough to outpace the fourth double-figure scoring game of the season from redshirt sophomore Juan Munoz, who led the Lancers with 14 points and a career-high five steals off the bench. He hit three three-pointers, including a four-point play and a late-game trey that cut USC Upstate's lead to single digits, 63-54, with 4:27 to play.
 
However, that nine-point deficit would be as close Longwood came to meeting the Spartans in the second half, as Upstate ended the game on a 10-2 run.
 
"It's a point of emphasis for us in every single game, in every single talk we have, to be the aggressor," Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich said. "This is now the second game in a row we have not been the aggressor, particularly in the first half of tonight's game.
 
"It's Division I basketball, and the other team wants to win too. They're all on scholarship, and they want to go home with a win. So if you're going to come out here and defend a little bit, play a little bit, you're not going to win. We saw the fruit of that tonight."
 
Both teams traded blows through the game's first four-plus minutes before the Spartans opened up an 8-0 run that put them ahead for good. That rally saw USC Upstate hold Longwood scoreless on six straight possessions while working the ball into the Lancer paint for four consecutive made layups, including two from Zink.
 
USC Upstate led 16-9 by the end of that stretch and increased that advantage to 13 points by halftime. The 42 points are the most Longwood has allowed in a half at home this season.
 
The Lancers corrected their course after halftime and allowed the Spartans to hit field goals on consecutive possessions just once in the game's final 15 minutes. Longwood racked up six steals in the second half, but the 13-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome.
 
"This was a disappointing," Aldrich said. "I don't care who we're playing. You see in the second half, I don't know what point it was, but [USC Upstate] couldn't run their offense. They're running their offense almost at half-court, so do we need to go down 15 points for us to start playing hard? That needs to be who we are when the ball gets tipped up in the first second. We're not doing that right now.
 
"I told the guys I can live with losing when we give our best and we compete. If we lose, we lose. But I can't stomach losing the way we lost tonight."
 
The loss precedes a two-game road swing for the Lancers, who continue Big South play with back-to-back road trips to Charleston Southern on Jan. 8 and Hampton on Jan. 11. Longwood will return home to Willett Hall on Jan. 16 to host Presbyterian.
 
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