Upstate Hosts Bluefield Saturday In Final Home Game Before Christmas
12/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2007
Complete Upstate-Bluefield Game Notes in PDF Format 
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - USC Upstate returns to the hardwood Saturday afternoon, taking on the Bluefield Rams at 4:00 p.m. in the Hodge Center at Upstate. The game marks just the second home game for the Spartans this season. Upstate will play 13 of its first 15 games away from the friendly confines of the Hodge Center. Upstate enters the game with a 1-7 record, having claimed a 78-54 victory the last time out against Brevard. Bluefield enters the contest with a 10-3 record. The game can be heard live in the Spartanburg area on ESPN 1400 AM and on the internet at www.upstatespartans.com and www.espn1400am.com. Live statistical updates are available online at www.upstatespartans.com using Gametracker.
Recapping Brevard
USC Upstate's return home was indeed a welcome occasion as the Spartans used a 24-0 run in the second half to open a commanding lead and went on for the easy 78-54 victory over Brevard on Dec. 6.
Although Upstate was in control the entire game, Brevard kept the contest within striking distance until a five-minute stretch midway through the second half which turned a 42-34 lead into a commanding 66-34 advantage. Luke Payne nailed two three-pointers and had eight points to lead the run, while Gabor Boros added seven points during the spurt.
Upstate placed four players in double figures for the first time this season. Payne finished with 14 points, while Mezie Uzochukwu and Boros each finished with 12. Josh Chavis added 11 for the Spartans. Jeremy Byrd, after missing the last three games, added four points, four assists and five steals in 16 minutes.
Spartans Hoping To Go Back-To-Back
With USC Upstate picking up its first win of the season last Thursday in a 78-54 victory over Brevard, the Spartans are looking to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.
The last time Upstate won back-to-back games was last season when the Spartans claimed a 75-57 win over USC Aiken (Feb. 14) and a 64-47 win over UNC Pembroke (Feb. 10). In fact, the two wins capped a three-game winning streak for Upstate.
Spartans No. 42
According to the latest strength of schedule ranking by Jeff Sagarin, Upstate has the 42nd toughest schedule out of 341 teams in Division I college basketball.
Home Sweet Home
Upstate played its first game of the season at the friendly confines of the Hodge Center last Thursday night against Brevard. The Spartans claimed a 78-54 victory over the Tornados. Upstate will play 30 games this season, with only 10 being played in the Hodge Center.
In six seasons under head coach Eddie Payne, Upstate is 55-17 in the Hodge Center.
Payne Reaches Milestone
Senior guard Luke Payne notched his 1,000th-point at UNC Greensboro (Nov. 24). 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 in the contest and 1,000 for his career. He went on to finish with 15 points in the game.
Payne became the 17th player in the history of the storied program to reach the 1,000-point milestone. He currently has 1,051 points in his career and ranks 15th all-time in scoring, recently passing Carlos Bryson (16th) and Willie Murdaugh (17th) on the all-time scoring list.
In addition to his scoring prowess, Payne ranks among the program's all-time leaders in 13 other statistical categories.
Payne currently leads the Spartans in scoring at 14.8 points per game and is the lone Spartan to average in double figures this season.
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 opened 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.
Shooting The 3-Ball
While USC Upstate has not shot the lights out from the field and scores at a 58.9 ppg clip, the Spartans have shown prowess from behind the three-point arc.
Upstate knocks down 36.3 percent of its shots from downtown and currently ranks second in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Spartans In The A-Sun
USC Upstate ranks in the top five in several team and individual statistical categories in the latest league report. As a team, the Spartans are in the top five in three-point field goal percentage (2nd), three-pointers made per game (4th), free throw percentage (4th) and turnover margin (+0.9).
Individually, Luke Payne ranks second with 2.75 three-pointers made per game and Bobby Davis ranks fifth in rebounding.
Playing No Gimmies
Upstate's ambitious schedule in 2007-08 certainly has no slouches on it. In fact, when you combine the win-loss records of the seven Division I opponents the Spartans have played so far this year, the opponents are a combined 34-21. Overall, the Spartans' opponents are 35-28 when adding in Division II Brevard.
Only UNC Greensboro (3-4) and Brevard (1-7) have losing records to date. IUPUI currently owns a 6-2 record, while Wake Forest, Utah and Oregon State each own 5-3 marks.
Byrd Flies To The Top
Jeremy Byrd collected six steals in the season-opening game at Utah, surpassing Terrance Gist (276) to move atop the all-time steals list at Upstate. Byrd now has 291 picks in his stellar four-year career with the Spartans.
Byrd, from Greenville, missed the three games prior to the Brevard contest and has not played in enough games to be considered among the A-Sun stat leaders. He currently averages 3.4 steals per game which would lead the league over a steal per game if he was eligible to be listed.
Hines Gives Schneiders Props
Reigning Southern Conference player of the year and UNC Greensboro standout Kyle Hines gave Upstate center Nick Schneiders praise on his blog. Hines was in the middle of recapping recent action when he talked of Schneider's thunderous dunk over him.
"USC Upstate had a 7-2 player on their team that I had to guard in the game," Hines blogged for doubleazone.com. "He was the tallest player I had played against. I faired well against him until one play in the second half, he dunked on me pretty bad. Coach (Mike) Dement showed the play like five times during our film session. I must admit it looked really bad on film. The coaches and rest of the team got a good laugh out of that one."
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.
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.
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' 7.8 ppg and 7.1 rpg averages.
Freshmen Rashawn Brailsford, Rory Spencer and Josh Chavis all see significant action on the court.
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.
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 Bluefield
Bluefield enters today's game with a 10-3 record. The Rams have already played four Appalachian Athletic Conference games and stand 3-1 in the league. Bluefield dropped its last contest, an 85-83 decision to Milligan. Prior to the Milligan game, the Rams had won three straight and six of the last seven games.
Bluefield opened the season with four straight wins over West Virginia Tech, Tennessee Temple, West Virginia Tech again and Bethel. The game against USC Upstate is the only game against NCAA Division I competition the Rams have on their schedule this season. Bluefield competes in the NAIA.
About The Team
Bluefield is a high-scoring team, averaging better than 96 points per contest. Their up-tempo offense has enabled the Rams to score over 100 points in four games this season, including a season-best 117 against Tennessee Wesleyan on Dec. 4.
While Bluefield scores a lot of points, it also gives up points as well. Opponents score more than 82 points per outing against the Rams and shoot at a 48.0 percent clip from the field.
Bluefield has five players who average in double figures. The top six scorers average more than every USC Upstate player, with the exception of Luke Payne who averages 14.8 ppg.
Curtis Dixon leads the way 16.6 points per game and shoots at better than 52 percent from the field. Coryon Ross averages 14.2 points per outing. Johnny Witherspoon does a little of everything. He averages 12.3 points and a team-high 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game. Dontae Gholson and Omar Reed each score at a 10.5 ppg rate. Another Ram, James Chapman, approaches 10 points per game, scoring at a 9.5 ppg clip.
About The Coach
Head Coach Jason Gillespie is in his fourth season at the helm of the Bluefield Ram program. He has compiled a 72-40 record at the school. He owns a 111-72 career record in six years as a head coach. He tallied a 39-32 record in two years at Cincinnati Christian University, leading the team to a sixth-place finish in the NCCAA National Tournament.
