SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The backcourt duo of Tommy Bruner and Dalvin White led the way for a second straight night, combining for 38 points to send USC Upstate past Longwood 65-59 in the Big South rematch Tuesday evening at the Hodge Center.
 
After combining for 36 points in Monday night's 71-69 win over the Lancers (2-10, 1-5 Big South), Bruner and White one-upped themselves Tuesday to help the Spartans (3-9, 3-3 Big South) hold off another late-game comeback in which the Lancers trimmed a 10-point deficit to two points with just 30 seconds remaining.
 
But it was once again Bruner, who hit the game-winning three-pointer in the final minute of Monday's win, who executed in the closing seconds Tuesday, sinking six straight free throws in the final 2:32 to shut down Longwood's comeback bid. He finished with 18 points, while White poured in 20 on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range.
 
After trailing by double digits with less than five minutes to play, the Lancers cut the Spartan lead to 61-59 with 30 seconds remaing after DeShaun Wade's three-pointer. However, Bruner drew fouls on USC Upstate's final two possessions and hit all four free throws to ice the victory.
 
"Obviously it's a disappointing result tonight, but I feel like if I look at Monday and Tuesday, I told them I can live with tonight's game," said Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich. "Last night I was really disappointed at our effort, at our competitiveness. I thought we were lethargic at times, and I thought we got out-competed at the end of the game [Monday].
 
"But tonight just wasn't our night. We traveled, we did a lot of things that weren't typical. I didn't love some of the calls on the travels, but at the same time we really struggled to make shots in the first half. I really thought our offense was getting good looks, we just weren't making them. I just felt like tonight wasn't our night."
 
Wade, who returned from an injury just five games prior and joined the starting lineup just three games ago, led Longwood with 13 points. Eleven of those came in the second half, including a run of six consecutive points midway through the period. Freshman Jesper Granlund also scored 10 points for his second double-digit scoring game, while Juan Munoz added 11.
 
"The thing I would say is I thought they battled and they competed," Aldrich said. "When I think about this team and this program, playing and competing has to be the staple. If you don't have that, there's no point in even focusing on the Xs and Os. Tonight we had competing and effort, so I can lose with this team we saw tonight. Yes, [USC Upstate] made plays, and hats off to them, but I don't think it was due to a lack of us not competing."
 
The Spartans were on the way to running away with a win after their lead ballooned to 10 points with 4:49 to play, but Longwood responded with back-to-back defensive stops and five consecutive points to cut the deficit back to two possessions. From there, the teams traded points until Lancer freshman Justin Hill hit two free throws with 1:06 left and Wade followed with his pull-up three-pointer in transition to cut it to 61-59 with 30 seconds.
 
However, Longwood was forced to foul on USC Upstate's ensuing inbounds play, and Bruner converted both free throws. After Hill missed a contested layup on Longwood's next possession, Bruner drew another forced foul and hit two more foul shots to secure the win.
 
Free throw shooting proved to be the difference beyond the final minute as well, as USC Upstate connected on 13-of-14 from the line. Meanwhile, the Lancers hit just 12-of-18 for their lowest clip since a 5-of-11 showing on the road at Big South foe Radford on Dec. 15.
 
"12-for-18 from the free throw line, including several one-and-ones. You're not going to win tight games doing that," Aldrich said.
 
Also disrupting Longwood's offense was 6-9, 230-pound forward Nevin Zink, who battled through a shoulder injury to amass seven points, three blocks and seven rebounds, four of which were on the offensive glass. His interior presence, and the absence of Longwood sophomore forward Leslie Nkereuwem, limited the Lancers to just 24 points in the paint, tied for their third lowest mark of the season and well below their season average of 33.0 per game.
 
The Lancers now head into a three-day break between games where they will prepare for a two-game home set against Campbell this Saturday and Sunday in Willett Hall. The first of those games will air on ESPN3, with the second following on ESPN+ and both broadcasting live on WVHL 92.9 FM in Farmville.
 
"The biggest thing for us right now is we have to continue to work on our consistency of competitiveness and our connectivity," Aldrich said. "Our team competed well, and as we go into Campbell that has to be a consistent trait for us."
 
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