SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Elijah Tucker picked up his fourth double-double in five games, but USC Upstate shot past the Lancers with a second-half surge that was the difference in a defensive struggle on Thursday night.
 
Tucker led Longwood (12-11, 4-4 Big South)with 13 points and 12 rebounds, but the USC Upstate defense kept the Lancer offense off balance outside the paint all night as the two teams wrapped up the first half of Big South play. Jacoi Hutchinson added 12 points, but Upstate's defense limited Longwood to four triples on the evening.
 
Karmani Gregory countered with 19 points, and Carmelo Adkins added 18 for USC Upstate (10-13, 2-6 Big South). Gregory powered an 18-8 Upstate spurt with eight points, and the Spartans went 4-4 from three in the run.

"It has nothing to do with Upstate. They deserved to win that game 100 out of 100 times," said Longwood Head Coach Ronnie Thomas when asked about the key to the game. "We have to fix our issue. We are playing games based on the competition and scoreboard, which is the wrong way to play the game. We have to play the game to the level of our standard, and that is what will allow us to become a consistent basketball team. Right now, we are basing it on opposing teams and what the scoreboard reads too much."
 
The first half was a back-alley brawl ruled by defense.
 
Neither offense was ever in rhythm in a stop-and-start game 20 minutes that had the two teams combine for 21 turnovers as they entered into the half tied at 21 apiece. The 21 points allowed marked the third straight game Longwood has held its opponent to 24 points or fewer in the opening half.
 
Despite a six-minute scoring drought, Longwood was only down three on Tucker's offensive rebound and putback that cut the lead to 17-14 with 5:50 to go in the first half. Johan Nziemi added a coast-to-coast layup to cut it to one after the Lancers forced a turnover on the next possession.
 
Thompson put Longwood ahead 21-19 a few minutes later, but Upstate hit the final shot of the half to send the two teams into the break tied at 21.
 
After halftime, Longwood took an early five-point lead as Hutchinson, Tucker and Nziemi all scored to take a 27-22 lead.
 
However, Upstate got hot from three. Adkins hit a triple, and that started a run that saw USC Upstate go 6-7 from three and 13-18 from the floor. The hot shooting flipped the game and gave the Spartans a 54-45 lead.
 
Longwood refused to quit and rallied with a 9-0 spurt to tie the game at 60 apiece. Redd Thompson Jr. started the run with a straightaway triple, and Benard capped it with a tough attempt with 58 seconds to play.
 
However, Gregory hit a tough, twisting layup on the other end and followed with another tough leaner one possession later to give Upstate the lead for good.
 
Longwood returns home to take on High Point on Saturday. Tip is set for 3 p.m. at the Joan Perry Brock Center, and tickets are available at www.longwoodlancers.com/tickets. It is a blackout at the JPB, and fans are encouraged to wear black. The game will air on ESPN+.
 
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