USC Upstate to Battle the Big East's Cincinnati Bearcats
11/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2007
Complete Game Notes 
Gametracker | WLW 700 AM - Radio
CINCINNATI, Ohio - USC Upstate takes its road show to Ohio, playing at the University of Cincinnati in the Queen City Monday, Nov. 26 at 8:00 p.m. at the Fifth Third Arena. Upstate and Cincinnati have never faced each other. Upstate enters the game with an 0-5 record, while host Cincinnati is 3-2 on the year. The University of Cincinnati is offering complete game coverage with live radio and Gametracker live stats. Visit www.gobearcats.com and click on the men's basketball schedule for complete link information for the radio and Gametracker features. The game can also be seen live in television in the Cincinnati area on WXIX Fox 19.
Recapping UNC Greensboro
USC Upstate fell behind early in the first half as a result of poor shooting from the Spartans and hot shooting from UNC Greensboro and never recovered as UNCG took a 93-76 victory in Greensboro, N.C., Saturday night.
Kendall Toney made 8-of-9 from three-point range and Mikko Koivisto was 3-for-4 as UNCG shot a blistering 60.0 percent from the arc and 54.4 percent overall against Upstate. Upstate cut a 22-point deficit to 14 on three occasions in the second half, but could not overcome the large deficit.
Luke Payne led the way with 15 point for Upstate, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his career. He is the 17th player in the history of the program to reach 1,000 points. Nick Schneiders matched his career high with 11 points and Rashawn Brailsford was solid with a career-high 14 points to go along with four rebounds and three steals.
Upstate Road Warriors
By season's end, USC Upstate will have played 30 games with two-thirds of the games being played away from the G.B. Hodge Center. In fact, the Spartans open the season playing their first seven games away from the friendly confines of the Hodge Center before playing its home opener against Brevard on Dec. 6. Upstate will play 13 of its first 15 games on the road this season.
In all, Upstate will travel more than 12,000 miles away from Spartanburg, and nearly 24,000 miles round trip, this season to play 20 games away from home.
Payne Reaches Milestone
Senior guard Luke Payne notched his 1,000th-point Saturday night at UNC Greensboro. The Spartanburg High School graduate sank a three-pointer with a little over seven minutes to play in the game to give him 12 points and 1,000 for his career. He went on to finish with 15 points in the game and now has 1,003. He became the 17th player in the history of the storied program to reach the milestone.
In addition to his scoring prowess, Payne ranks among the program's all-time leaders in 12 other statistical categories.
Byrd Flies to the Top
Jeremy Byrd entered the season opener at Utah on Nov. 9 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.
Byrd now has 286 steals in his career. He also ranks among the all-time leaders in eight other statistical categories.
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 early in the season.
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 and an 85-83 win over Alabama.
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.
Payne Receives Honor
Despite playing the final two games, and part of the first, with a deep thigh bruise at the BP Top of the World Classic Nov. 16-18, starting guard Luke Payne played well enough to garner All-Tournament honors. He scored 43 points in three games, averaging 14.3 points and three rebounds per outing in the tournament. He scored 17 points against Akron and Oregon State and nine against IUPUI.
Sandago Recognized in Alaska
Head Athletic Trainer Sandy Sandago was named the outstanding athletic trainer at the BP Top of the World Classic last weekend in Fairbanks, Alaska. Sandago was honored after his work throughout the tournament, in particular in his efforts to get Luke Payne back onto the court after the senior suffered a deep thigh bruise during Friday's tournament opener for the Spartans.
Schneiders Comes Alive
If USC Upstate starting center Nick Schneiders can begin to put together consistent performances in games like he did against Akron and UNC Greensboro, Upstate could have a potent 1-2 punch down low.
Bobby Davis already turns in solid averages of 8.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as the team's starting power forward. Schneiders, at 7-2, has shown the ability to get the job done. he scored a career-high 11 points to go with eight rebounds against Akron (Nov. 16). He turned in another 11-point effort with five boards and three blocked shots at UNC Greensboro Saturday. If Schneiders, who averages a respectable 7.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per outing, can turn in more consistent performances and increase those numbers, the Spartans could be strong down low.
Freshmen Contributing Early
With nine newcomers on the team this year, it is no surprise that several freshmen are playing key minutes for Upstate. Mezie Uzochukwu starts at the three-spot on averages 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. Rory Spencer (4.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg), Rashawn Brailsford (4.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg) and Josh Chavis (2.0 ppg, 0.2 rpg) are typically the first players off of the bench for head coach Eddie Payne.
Double Foul Trouble
If there is a knock on the development of junior forward Bobby Davis or sophomore center Nick Schneiders, it's that they have been unable to stay on the court for extended periods of time because of foul trouble.
Davis has missed key minutes against Utah, Akron and UNC Greensboro because of early foul trouble in the first half of each of those games. Schneiders has gotten into early foul trouble in four of the five games this season. Each turn in impressive averages, though both players could easily increase those numbers with added time on the floor.
Newcomers Making It Happen
With nine newcomers and only four players returning with extensive experience from last year's team, it is no surprise that the new players have made significant impacts on the team.
Luke Payne, Jeremy Byrd and Nick Schneiders all start for the Spartans and they are the only returnees to see significant action for the Spartans this season. The other two starting positions, as well as the bench support, have come from the new players on the roster, led by Bobby Davis' 8.8 ppg and 7.4 rpg averages.
Freshmen Rashawn Brailsford and Rory Spencer are the first players off the bench for Upstate.
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.
Scouting Cincinnati
Cincinnati comes into Monday night's game with a 3-2 record, having claimed a 69-64 victory over Fairfield Saturday.
Atlantic Sun Conference school, Belmont, gave Cincinnati an 86-75 loss to open the season. The Bearcats evened their record at 1-1 with a 66-64 win over Western Carolina. A 69-67 loss to Bowling Green followed before Cincinnati ran off two straight wins over Coastal Carolina (74-59) and Fairfield.
About the Team
Cincinnati is a team with experience and talent. Seniors Marvin Gentry, John Williamson and Adam Hrycaniuk lead the team as starters. Gentry averages 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while Williamson scores at a 9.6 ppg clip and pulls down 7.0 rpg. Hrycaniuk, the team's starting center, averages 10.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg.
Sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn tops the Bearcats in scoring at 17.6 ppg. He pulls down 4.0 rpg and leads the team with a 5.0 apg average. Finally, sophomore Rashad Bishop averages 8.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Cincinnati averages 70.2 points per game while giving up 68.4 ppg. The Bearcats shoot 42.8 percent from the floor and 32.5 percent from the three-point arc. Opponents shoot 43.0 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from the arc against the Bearcats. Cincinnati has a +2.4 rebounding margin.
About the Coach
Bearcat head coach Mick Cronin is in his second season as head coach his alma mater. A 1997 graduate of Cincinnati, Cronin tallied an 11-19 record in his first year at the helm of the Bearcat program in 2006-07.
Prior to his stint at the helm of the Cincinnati program, Cronin spent three years as head coach at Murray State. He tallied a 69-24 record as a Racer. He won two Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championships, advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice, and was named the OVC Coach of the Year once during his time at Murray State.
Prior to serving as a head coach, Cronin spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Cincinnati and Louisville.
