Spartans Claim Win Over Catamounts

Off the heels of Wednesday night’s dramatic overtime victory over Coastal Carolina in which the Spartans overcame deficits of 17 and 11 points respectively, went 16 for their last 18 from the free throw line, and got a career-high 27 points from Mason Bendinger, USC Upstate came into Saturday looking to make it 2 in a row and get back over .500 on the season.

The Spartans hosted a SoCon foe in former Gardner-Webb Head Coach Tim Kraft’s Western Carolina Catamounts (4-4) – who nearly a year ago to the date in Cullowhee, Upstate defeated 74-68 to mark both the first win over an NCAA Division I opponent for Marty Richter as Head Coach and their first D1 victory for the 2024-2025 campaign. Even more notably, the Spartans won just 6 games all last season -– a mark that with a win over the Catamounts, they would match just 11 contests into this year.

The game got off to a slow start for both squads with Western Carolina starting 0 for their first 5 from the field and Upstate 0 for 4. The 2 sides got into a 4-4 deadlock at the under 16 media timeout, but Isaiah Skinner was fouled shooting three to prompt the stoppage. Out of the break, he hit all three free throws to give the Spartans their first lead. From that point, Western was held scoreless for nearly 2 minutes, a span in which Isaiah Skinner hit the first three pointer of the game for either team (both started 0-4 from beyond the arch). That basket sparked a 6-0 Upstate run that was the difference heading into the next media stoppage where Upstate led 17-11.

The game devolved into a free throw shooting contest over the course of the next segment, which given the Spartans’ streak from the stripe dating back to the 2nd half and overtime against Coastal, was actually favorable. That momentum carried over in the form of a 5-5 start from the stripe in this contest and by the under 8, which was prompted by the first Upstate field goal in three minutes – a contested layup from Coen Collier he was fouled on, the Spartans were 9 of 13 at the line, leading 27-19.

The momentum meter swung the opposite direction in the final segment of the half. USC Upstate went cold for 2:07, a skid in which the Catamounts used a 4-4 push from the free throw line to cut the deficit to just 3 points. That streak was snapped by a Bendinger floating stepback jumper for 2 with 42 seconds to play. However, Western Carolina made a three in the waning ticks while Upstate was unable to get a final shot off, making for a narrow 40-38 Spartan lead at the intermission.

Out of the half, the Spartans built a 50-42 advantage before running into adversity for the 2nd time this week. Upstate went colder than the temps outside the Hodge Center. Beginning ahead of the first media timeout with a 5 minute and 10 second scoreless skid, which allowed Western to chip back into the game. Upstate’s defense did a good job of holding the Catamounts without a basket for 3:14, but in spite of that stretch, WCU put together a 10-0 run that was capped by a three from the left corner, briefly giving them their first lead of the game at 52-50 at the 11:33 mark. But, the Spartans got a personal 5-2 spurt from Tyler Smith to spark an 11-4 run ahead of the under 8 to go up 61-56.

“Our juice level wasn’t great today”, said USC Upstate Head Coach Marty Richter of the stretch of adversity his team had to overcome. “We were playing like it was a Sunday afternoon rec league game, going back and forth with them. They went on that run and once we got down, I think it actually helped us. It made the guys realize ‘oh shoot. They can beat us.’ You are going to be in different games all year. We were leading against Nebraska. Got down, and fought back. We never got the lead back. But we fought back. We fought back from being down double digits twice against Coastal Carolina. I am seeing with this group that when we get punched in the mouth or knocked down, we take the count, get back up, and fight. In basketball and in life, you’re gonna get hit and knocked down. But, can you get back up when it matters? That is what our guys are doing. Nothing is easy or perfect, and I love the fight that they have when they don’t get scared of the moment.

Once the Spartans got back off the mat, they were finally able to salt the game away in the final minutes thanks to a 5-0 burst spanning a minute and 10 seconds out of the under 4, which opened their lead up to 10. In the end, USC Upstate pulled away for the 78-67 victory.

Gregory and Bendinger tied for the team lead in points with 15 each. Gregory added 6 assists and a rebound while Bendinger had 6 boards, an assist, and a blocked shot. Carmelo Adkins was not far from making it a 3-way tie with 14 points, 7 rebounds, an assist, and 2 steals. Learic Davis notched 11 with a team-high 9 boards, an assist, and a steal while Isaiah Skinner tallied 10 points to go with a rebound and assist.

“It’s really neat to see 5 guys in double figures”, Richter said of his team’s effort in the win. We had eight guys score of the 11 we played. As coaches, we are teaching them how to win. You can’t win for them, but you can put them in spots to help them make it happen. They are taking those spots and running with them right now. Different guys are stepping up. That is what winning is – when different guys step up. That is what is really neat to see. They are starting to figure that out as a group.”

Of those 5 in double figures, the most significant contribution may have been from Isaiah Skinner, who played 19 and a half minutes – all off the bench and 15 of which came in the 2nd half – and he did it all with 3 fouls against him.

“He is doing winning plays”, said Richter of Skinner’s recent show of growth. “As a senior, that is what you want him to do. One day everyone figures it out. Everybody figures it out at different times in their career. I didn’t learn how to win until my junior and senior year. He is figuring out how to make winning plays and impact winning. I am proud of him because I have been hard on Isaiah, and he has accepted the challenge. He went 2-5 from three. That’s 40%. He is 10 for 25 on the season. Also 40%. That’s terrific. He is a 40% three point shooter. So people are gonna have to figure out how to guard him when we play small.”

“I think about team wins,” Skinner said of how he was able to help lead his teammates. “If I do my job, everyone else is gonna do theirs. It is about trust. If we could do that, those plays would come down to getting stops and then getting out in transition, being tough to guard. If we can do that, we can get out there and run and come out with the win.”

As mentioned earlier, with this victory, USC Upstate has now matched their season output in wins from all of last season, which is a huge testimony to how this team’s perseverance and persistence through adversity and growing pains have led to them reaping rewards.

“We have a collective team. I feel like our team has bought in because our eight veteran returners have set the culture for USC Upstate basketball”, Richter stated with both pride and confidence. “Take out winning today. Take out Wednesday night’s win over Coastal. Take out Nebraska and all the games. They set the culture and they are getting rewarded now. They are seeing the rewards and if they stay with it, they will keep getting rewarded.”

Isaiah Skinner reflected his coach’s sentiments about how the team is coming together, stating that they will need that – especially in a week when they take on UNC in Chapel Hill.

“I think we just have to accept the challenge and have fun. This group is starting to have fun. That is why we are winning. That trust is building and I think we are going to go out there and fight.”

Upstate, now 6-5 on the season, will have final exams this week before taking their fight to the #16-ranked Tar Heels with tip set for 2:00 PM at the Dean Smith Center.