SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Hampton University men's basketball team fell on the road Wednesday night, as South Carolina Upstate took a 68-49 win in the Hodges Center.

The Pirates (2-10) are winless on the road this season.

Junior guard/forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) led the Pirates with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. He also blocked four shots on the night. Junior guard Ramon Mercado (Hollywood, Fla.) added eight points off the bench.

The Pirates opened the game on an 8-0 run, taking that lead at the 16:24 mark after a 3-pointer from senior guard Jasper Williams (Washington, D.C.)  Senior forward Wesley Dunning (Washington, D.C.) later gave Hampton a 12-4 lead at the 13:33 mark after back-to-back layups.

USC Upstate fought back, though, using a 13-4 run to take a 17-16 lead at the 6:14 mark, its first lead of the night, on a layup from Rob Elam. Maxwell gave the lead back to the Pirates with 5:43 left in the half with a layup, before Ty Greene put the Spartans back on top with a jumper at the 5:26 mark.

A Maxwell dunk at the 2:12 mark gave Hampton a 25-24 lead, but USC Upstate closed the half on a 10-0 run to go into the locker room with a 34-25 lead after Torrey Craig hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Pirates came out strong in the second half, opening the frame with a 13-4 run to tie the game at 38-38 with 13:43 to play after freshman forward Dionte Adams (Charlotte, N.C.) sank a layup. But Greene gave USC Upstate the lead back with 13:09 to play, hitting a trey to put the Spartans up 41-38.

That basket kicked off a 20-3 run for the Spartans, who went up 58-41 with 5:16 to play after an Adrian Rodgers free throw. The closest the Pirates got from there was 14, cutting the lead to 61-47 with 1:45 to play after a Maxwell layup.

USC Upstate out-scored the Pirates 7-2 over the rest of the game.

The Pirates shot 33.3 percent (19-for-57) from the floor, hitting just five of their 24 3-pointers and going 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) from the free throw line. Hampton forced USC Upstate into 24 turnovers, converting them into 21 points.

The Spartans (6-7) shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the floor and hit six of their 19 3-pointers. USC Upstate held a 46-32 edge on the glass.

Greene led three Spartans in double figures with 17 points.

The Pirates will return to action on Monday, when they square off against James Madison at the HU Convocation Center at 7 p.m. For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.