Holmes scores 24; South Carolina Upstate beats Paine 79-59

Nov 21, 2017, 01:21 pm

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Deion Holmes scored 24 points to lead South Carolina Upstate to a 79-59 victory over Division II Paine on Monday night.

Holmes shot 9 of 18 from the field and made three 3-pointers. Mike Cunningham added 17 points for South Carolina Upstate (2-3). Ramel Thompkins, who scored a career-high 26 points in a 10-point loss to Charleston Southern on Saturday, had just 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting from the floor.

Babe Murphy scored 17 points to lead Paine. Phillip Garner added 15 points.

Thompkins, Cunningham and Jure Span each hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Spartans a double-digit lead midway through the first half.

Murphy scored five points, and Cameron Gaines and Deshawndric Nelms each made a jump shot during a 9-3 spurt to pull Paine to 49-39 with 13 minutes to play but the Lions didn't get closer.