Since knocking off Brevard 90-61 in their last game at the Hodge Center 2 weeks ago, USC Upstate took back to the road for consecutive games. They ended up splitting them, with the Spartans knocking off Western Carolina 74-68 in Cullowhee for Coach Richter’s first victory over a division I opponent as a head coach as well as their first road victory of the season. Upstate trailed the Catamounts by six at the half, but opened the 2nd stanza on a 13-0 run, in the end riding a 16-point effort from junior guard Brit Harris and double digit performances from Carmelo Adkins (14 pts), Mister Dean, and Karmani Gregory (11 each) to the 74-68 win.
They followed that up with a tough test in Columbia against Lamont Paris’ South Carolina Gamecocks, falling 73-53 in a game that may have felt like a loss in more than one way. Upstate had a scare when Harris went up for a wide open dunk on a fast break. He ended up falling hard to the floor after slipping off the rim, landing on his shoulder/neck area, the impact of which left him briefly unconscious. He was soon after revived and taken to a hospital for further evaluation. Fortunately, Brit only suffered a shoulder injury and had to be placed in protocol, meaning he will be unavailable until he is cleared from both. Despite the injury, Upstate still got a nice positive via a double-double out of junior forward Breylin Garcia (14 points, 13 rebounds) – the first by any Spartan player this season.
Wednesday night, Upstate returned to “The Hodge” for the first of back to back home games to finish out 2024 with their last 2 non-conference tests. As sure as final exams this past week have been a tough test for the students, Wednesday’s game was also going to be a dogfight – pun possibly intended.
The Spartans welcomed the South Carolina State Bulldogs (5-7 overall), who in an interview Tuesday afternoon, USC Upstate Head Coach Marty Richter gave a simple yet very accurate scouting report for. He said that they would press hard and go after the ball to force a lot of turnovers, and from the tip, that game plan was more than evident.
Four seconds after SC State secured the opening possession, Omar Croskey put the Bulldogs on top with a layup. That lead would never falter through the remaining 39 minutes and 56 seconds of the game thanks largely to poor execution by the Spartans that led to just about as bad of a start as you can have.
Following the Croskey layup, the tone/story for the night was set and written on the Spartans’ first three possessions. Their first ended in a missed jump shot off an alley-oop by Mister Dean. The second ended on a bad pass that was thrown to nobody out of bounds on a likely miscommunication. On the third offensive chance for Upstate, the Dogs came away with a steal. Not an ideal recipe for success against an aggressive opponent that scores quickly.
The Spartans’ turnover woes were compounded by an inability to make shots early on. Upstate started out 0 for their first 7 from the floor, not scoring a basket until the 16:06 mark when Carmelo Adkins made a layup and drew a foul, ultimately completing a 3-point play the old fashioned way. However, the Spartans had dug themselves into quite the deep hole with the cold start, having been down 9-0 prior to Adkins’ make.
Upstate managed to get in a flow after that, eventually pulling to as close as they would ever be the rest of the way on an Andrew McConnell three from the left wing. But, the Bulldogs punched back quickly with a 11-0 run that was not snapped until Nic Book sank a layup at the 11:29 mark, which may have provided a bit of a spark going forward that the Spartans used to try and set themselves up for a second half comeback.
Upstate went on a 6-0 burst to end the first frame while SCSU went cold for the final minute and a half, making for just a 6 point game at the interval. The Bulldogs’ dry spell extended to 3:06 out of the break. However, the Spartans started the 2nd stanza in nearly identical fashion to the first – an almost 4 minute scoreless streak. Eventually, SC State was able to get back on the horse with a layup at the 18:19 mark and ‘mounted’ a 7-0 run that pushed the Spartans back into the gopher hole.
USC Upstate spent the remainder of the game in a tennis match, bouncing back and forth from being down as many as 16 points to as few as 10. But, each time they got a chance to close the gap down to single digits, they failed. In the end, South Carolina State cruised their way to the 85-70 victory.
The finger can be pointed in a lot of places for the Spartans. But, the biggest differences were the turnover margin and the battle at the free throw line. USC Upstate turned the ball over a whopping twenty-one times, allowing SC State to score 18 points off them. At the stripe, USCU was a dismal 25 for 41, and if that wasn’t baffling enough, they also shot just 43.8% as a team (21-48 from the floor, 3 for 13 from three point range). On the flipside, the Bulldogs didn’t fare much better, shooting 28-59 from the field and 6 of 21 from beyond the arch. But, at the charity stripe, they earned their keep with a 23-31 showing.
Upstate had just two shooters in double figures, led by Adkins with 21 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds, a blocked shot, and a steal. Mister Dean logged 17 points to go with 3 assists, 6 boards, and a steal. Book, McConnell, and Gregory each tallied 6 points while Breylin Garcia and Chico Johnson both scored 5.
The Spartans, now 4-10 on the season, will return to action with their final non-conference game as well as their final contest of 2024 this Saturday as they host the Youngstown State Penguins. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM.
