Spartans Take on IUPUI in Second Game of BP Top of the World Classic
11/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2007
Upstate-IUPUI Game Notes in PDF Format 
All three Upstate tournament games can be heard on the internet at ESPN 1400 AM.
Follow the action online, including live video feeds of the games, at the BP Top of the World Classic website.
FAIRBANKS, Alsaka - USC Upstate travels to Fairbanks, Alaska, to take part in the eight-team BP Top of the World Classic Nov. 15-18. The Spartans will be playing their 2-4 games of the season in Fairbanks, having dropped its Division I debut, 86-52, at Utah last Friday night.
Upstate is looking for their first win of the season and the Division I era. Upstate opened the BP TOWC against Akron, taking a 64-60 loss from the Zips. Upstate battles IUPUI in the second round of the tournament Saturday at 2:30 p.m. AKT, 6:30 p.m. EST. IUPUI fell victim to a furious Portland State comeback, taking a 75-73 loss Friday night. The Jaguars enter Saturday's game with a 1-2 record.
Recapping Akron
USC Upstate battled back from a 15-point halftime deficit to get within three points in the final 30 seconds, but fell to Akron 64-60 Friday night. Upstate got three cracks at a three-pointer in the final 20 seconds, but each touched rim and did not fall as the Zips held on for the win.
Upstate got strong performances from Luke Payne, Mezie Uzochukwu and Nick Schneiders, while Rashawn Brailsford gave the Spartans a boost as well. Payne finished with a team-high 17 points, while Uzochukwu added eight points and five rebounds. Schneiders scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Brailsford had two assists and a steal in the final three minutes of the game to spark the Spartans.
Byrd Flies to the Top
Jeremy Byrd entered the season opener at Utah last Friday night needing two steals to tie the Upstate all-time record of 276 held by Terrance Gist. He got the two and then some, coming away with four steals in the first half alone and six total to vault to the top of the all-time list.
With three steals last night, Byrd now has 283 steals in his career. He also ranks among the all-time leaders in eight other statistical categories.
Payne Nearing Milestone
Luke Payne is nearing 1,000 career points, having entered the season just 67 points shy of the milestone mark. The senior from Spartanburg, and the coach's son, finished with 12 points at Utah and a team-high 17 last night against Akron and needs just 38 to reach 1,000 for his career.
The senior has played all three guard positions for the Spartans and enters the season ranked No. 19 on Upstate's all-time scoring list with 962 points.
Payne also ranks among the school's all-time greats in 12 other statistical categories. He ranks fifth all-time with 129 three-pointers and ranks in the Top 10 in three-pointers attempted, free throws made and assists.
Big Fella Goes With Career-High
Nick Schneiders, Upstate's 7-2 center, is going to see increased minutes this season. He was certainly productive last Friday night at Utah and last night against Akron. The Rietberg, Germany, native finished the Utah game with six points and a career-high nine rebounds. Last night, he tallied a career-high 11 points and eight rebounds to lead the Spartans.
A-Sun Makes Some Noise
If the start if the season is any indication of how good the Atlantic Sun Conference is going to be this year, the league will be tough. Gardner-Webb, Mercer and Belmont pulled off impressive victories last week.
Gardner-Webb, behind the 15 points and eight rebounds from Aaron Linn, defeated then-No. 22 Kentucky, 84-68. Mercer claimed a 96-81 victory over then-No. 18 Southern Cal. James Florence led the way with 30 points.
The two wins over nationally-ranked opponents marked the first time in the 30-year history of the league that conference teams defeated more than one nationally-ranked opponent in the same week. It is also the first time in four years that an A-Sun team has defeated a Top 25 ranked opponent.
In addition to the Kentucky and Southern Cal wins, Belmont claimed an 86-75 win over Cincinnati.
Greensboro Newbies Have Solid Pedigrees
When coaches bring in new recruits, they not only look for individual talent, they also look to see how well a player helps their former team and the how well the teams do in competition. Josh Chavis and Mezie Uzochukwu, both from Greensboro, N.C., come to Upstate after strong senior seasons.
Chavis, from Dudley HS, played in the North Carolina East-West All-Star game. He also spent the summer playing for the N.C. Gaters AAU team. He was the starting point guard on the team that won the AAU 19-Under National Championship.
Uzochukwu, from Northeast Guilford HS, also played in the North Carolina East-West All-Star game. He finished the game with a team-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, leading the West squad to the 81-75 victory and earning MVP honors. He joined a prestigious club of East-West MVP winners, including recent honorees Kevin Swinton and William Graves, both of whom now play in the ACC.
Hitting the Boards
With 7-2 center Nick Schneiders and the phsycial presence of Bobby Davis, the Spartans have the ability to hit the boards. They did so last night, claiming a 43-29 advantage over Akron. Upstate grabbed 10 offensive rebounds to the Zips' six, out-scoring Akron 13-1 in second chance points.
Taking Care of the Ball
USC Upstate must take care of the ball offensively and score when forcing turnovers. The Spartans have forced 33 turnovers this season, but has scored just 26 points off of opponent miscues, including 10 off of 13 turnovers last night. Akron forced Upstate into 18 turnovers Friday night and scored 20 points off of Spartan miscues.
The Perimeter Game
Through the first two games of the season, Upstate has yet to put together a consistent twosome down low on the offensive end of the court. Bobby Davis was the lone point producer in the Utah game and Nick Schneiders was a man on a mission last night, but did not get too much help from his teammates. Against Akron, Upstate scored 22 points in the paint and scored 60 points overall.
Spencer for Hire
Freshman post player Rory Spencer has been solid in his first two games of his collegiate career. He showed improvement over his first game in last night's Akron contest, finishing with a career-high nine points and four rebounds to help the Spartans rally to the brink of a win. Last Friday at Utah, he tallied six points for the Spartans.
Forcing the Turnover
Under head coach Eddie Payne, Upstate gained a reputation of being a tough defense in the Division II ranks, frequently causing turnovers. That trend has continued into the Division I era as the Spartans forced Utah into 20 turnovers and Akron into 13 miscues so far this season.
Rashawn Sparks Spartans
Freshman point guard Rashawn Brailsford logged some solid minutes last night against Akron, sparking Upstate late in the game with a pair of assists and a steal to help Upstate rally from a 15-point deficit at halftime to within one possession with 30 seconds to play. Brailsford was forced into action when starting point guard Jeremy Byrd got into foul trouble and was forced to the bench.
Shooting Woes
Despite the gutsy effort to claw back into Friday night's game against Akron, head coach Eddie Payne is concerned with the Spartans' ability to make shots. That was illustrated last night when Upstate shot just 37 percent from the floor in the first half, falling behind by 15 at halftime. The Spartans finished the game shooting 4-of-12 from three-point range (33.3%) and was 10-of-17 (58.8%) from the free throw line. Upstate did rebound in the second half to shoot a respectable 46.4 percent from the floor in the half and 41.8% for the game.
Burrows Brings Experience to Sidelines
First-year assistant coach Bill Burrows is anything but new to the game. The veteran of the sideline has been a head coach on the high school level in North Carolina for nearly 30 years and was an assistant coach at Georgia Tech and Towson. He can tell stories of coaching greats such as Brad Daugherty and Brad Johnson, but his best quality may be his ability to tell stories that both entertain and educate.
Paul Makes Good
Former Spartan starting point guard C.J. Paul is now living the life around the NBA. No, he is not playing in the world's top league, he is serving as the personal assistant/manager for his younger brother, Chris, the former NBA Rookie of Year now in his third season with the New Orleans Hornets.
