Spartans Win In OT Over Chants

After a 2nd half offensive explosion a little over a week ago against North Carolina Central, the Spartans went on the road to a frozen Lincoln, Nebraska this past Saturday to take on the Cornhuskers for their first action following the Thanksgiving Holiday. USC Upstate got off to a hot start in that contest, at one point midway through the first half leading by double digits. Upstate had 4 players score in double figures against Nebraska, led by Karmani Gregory with 20 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists. Mason Bendinger added 13, while Isaiah Skinner notched 12 to go with a rebound, assist, and 4 steals. Carmelo Adkins rounded out the leaders with 11 points, a team-leading 9 rebounds, and 3 steals.

The Spartans remained competitive as the game went on, but in the end, the Huskers pulled away for a 72-63 win to drop the Spartans’ record back below .500 at 4-5, setting that stage for a Wednesday night return home to the Hodge Center in which the Spartans would be looking for a bounce back against a familiar midmajor opponent out of the Sun Belt Conference, hosting the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (5-3).

Things did not at all get off to an ideal start in this contest. Ahead of the first media timeout, USC Upstate went 0 for their first 8 from the field while the Chants went on a 10-0 run. The Spartans did not score their first basket of the night until Kanye Jones put in a layup at the 13:45 mark, which Coastal promptly answered to make it a 12-2 game. The Spartans did not find the basket again until just ahead of the under 12 stoppage on a mid range jumper from Gregory that snapped a 5-0 CCU run and made for a 19-4 hole by the time the whistle blew.

Upstate began to chip their way back in out of the break thanks to consecutive threes from Learic Davis and Isaiah Skinner, cutting the deficit to 24-10 after the Chants hit a trey of their own between them. By the under 4 media timeout, the deficit was cut to 12 and USC Upstate would own the last 3:21 of the period, going on a 10-1 run to finish the half strong – a huge positive after such a rough start, making for a 31-25 game at the intermission.

Out of the half, the Coastal scoreless streak extended to three minutes and 20 seconds, allowing Upstate to make it a 4 point game on a layup from Bendinger, but it did not take long once the lid was broken off the rim by Coastal for them to re-open their advantage, upping the ante to 9 and taking a 7 point lead to the first media timeout.

The game finally gained some big momentum for the Spartans coming out of the under 12 stoppage when Davis sparked a 9-2 run with the first of 4 straight triples by the Spartans. He and Gregory combined to pull Upstate within 2 at the under 8, and Bendinger later tied it with a layup shortly after play resumed. Coastal then answered with a three, setting the stage for a wild back-and-forth heading into the final media timeout, where the Chants led 61-57.

Upstate once again came charging back, eventually evening the game at 65 thanks to Bendinger going 3 for 4 at the line. After the Chanticleers reclaimed the lead with 2 from the charity stripe of their own, Gregory once again pulled the game level with a huge fastbreak layup. He had a chance to end it at the horn after coming up with a loose ball and breaking down the court, but he lost the handle on the ball as soon as he got into the paint and by the time he was able to regather himself, regulation had ended in a 65-65 deadlock.

The Spartans started the overtime period with a 4-0 run thanks to a pair of Jafeth Martinez free throws and a layup from Gregory, who later pushed the lead to 6 with 2 more from the stripe of his own. In the end, USC Upstate finished 16 for 18 from the free throw line over the span of overtime, making them 22 for 25 dating back to the under 12 break in regulation. That was the difference as the Spartans sealed an 85-78 victory to get back to .500 on the season.

“I thought we played hard”, said Upstate Head Coach Marty Richter after the win. We were down 21-4 and were trying to play ‘hero ball’ on offense. But as soon as we stopped doing that and started sharing the ball and making quick decisions, the game changed. We outscored them 21-10 to close out the half. In the 2nd half, we went on a run and got it close and then {AJ} Dancler hit two huge three pointers to put them up 11. We could have stopped right there. But, we didn’t.”

Bendinger led the charge for Upstate with a career-high 27 points, most of which came on a 12 for 15 effort from the line. He also added 5 rebounds and a steal.

“We had to keep fighting”, said Mason – not just of his own effort, but the team’s. “We’ve been battling all year trying to get over that hump. We competed and hit a couple of shots going into the half to get their lead down to 6. When we went down 11 in the second half, we kept on battling and finally found our offensive flow. But, for me, it was all about making free throws, which the coaches have been on me all year for. I have been working every day at it and luckily, I was able to knock them down tonight.”

Gregory was not far off with 21 points on the heels of a 9-17 night from the field with 7 boards, 3 assists, and a steal. Adkins ended up with 14, 3 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a blocked shot. Davis rounded out the scoring leaders with 11 points, a team-high 9 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and 2 blocks.

If you were to put this game to a brief summary, it is that hard work did pay off for Upstate – a point iterated by both Bendinger and Coach Richter.

“It felt amazing to win this game”, said Bendinger. “All the work we put in throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall leading up to the season. All the times we have been tested. There are days where you don’t feel like showing up again the next day. But, those are the days that get us through these moments and prepare us. All of that really helped us get to this moment and win a game we needed to.”

“They’re growing”, said Richter. “This is our fifth week of the regular season and our goal has been to keep getting better each week. And we have. I told the guys after the Nebraska game that they were growing – just not seeing the reward of it yet. If you stay the path, you will start seeing the rewards. I saw the growth last week. We played a really good Nebraska team that is top 30 in the NET rankings. It didn’t turn out the way we wanted, but at the end we played hard for 35 minutes against high-major players. We could have stopped when we went down 11 in the 2nd half tonight. But our guys didn’t. That is a testimony to our players. From the time they got here June 15th to today, they have gone through struggles. Eventually you have to decide. Am I going to give in or fight adversity? And our guys battled through adversity tonight. Winning is tough. Tonight was not easy. That is a really good Coastal Carolina team. They are so much better than they were last year. But all nine of the guys that we played impacted the game in different ways. That’s what is beautiful and I am proud of them for that.”

The Spartans, now sitting at 5-5 on the season, will get until midnight to enjoy this win before they turn their attention to Saturday, when they will welcome the Western Carolina Catamounts from the SoCon to town. Tip off on Saturday afternoon is set for 2:00 PM at the Hodge Center.