Upstate Hosts Brevard in 2007-08 Home Opener
12/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2007
Upstate vs. Brevard Game Notes in PDF Format 
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -USC Upstate returns to Spartanburg for its 2007-08 home opener Thursday night against Brevard. The game is the first for the Spartans against a non-Division I opponent and the first of 10 games to be played in the Hodge Center this season. Upstate enters the game with an 0-7 record, while Brevard stands 1-6 on the season. 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 Wake Forest
For the second straight game, USC Upstate had a major Division I opponent on the ropes in the first half only to see the game get away by halftime, dropping a 72-48 decision at Wake Forest Saturday.
The Spartans grabbed the lead on a three-pointer by Luke Payne to open the game and the senior nailed three treys in the first five minutes to lead Upstate to the lead. The Spartans were either in the lead or tied from the 14:56 mark to the 6:29 mark of the first half, opening a four-point advantage, 20-16, with 8:11 to play before halftime.
However, Wake closed out the half with a 22-6 run to open a 38-26 advantage and never looked back.
For the second straight game, and the third out of the last four contests, Payne was the only Spartan to finish in double figures, leading Upstate with 15 points. Josh Chavis finished with eight points and three rebounds, while Bobby Davis added seven points and five boards.
Looking For A Win
USC Upstate is in search of its first victory of the 2007-08 season. The Spartans opened the season with seven straight games away from Spartanburg and have dropped all seven contests.
Taking The Lead
For the second straight game, Upstate has led for the majority of the first half against a major NCAA Division I opponent before watching a large run at the end of the half turn the tide.
Upstate held a lead for most of the first half at Cincinnati (11/26) before a 10-0 Bearcat run allowed Cincy to open a five-point lead at halftime. Cincinnati went on for a 12-point win.
Upstate again held a lead for most of the first half at Wake Forest Saturday. However, after falling behind by four, the Demon Deacons closed out the half on a 22-6 run to open a 12-point lead at the intermission.
Home Sweet Home
Upstate plays its first game of the season at the friendly confines of the Hodge Center tonight against Brevard. Upstate will play 30 games this season, with only 10 being played in the Hodge.
In six seasons under head coach Eddie Payne, Upstate is 54-17 in the Hodge Center.
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 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 1,037. 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.
Payne currently leads the Spartans in scoring at 14.9 points per game and is the lone Spartan to average in double figures this season.
Spartans In The A-Sun
Several USC Upstate players rank among the leaders in the latest A-Sun statistical release. Luke Payne ranks 10th in scoring at 14.9 ppg, while Bobby Davis cracks the Top 10 at seventh in rebounding with 7.0 rpg. Davis is also tied for fifth with 5.6 defensive rebounds per outing, while Payne ranks ninth in free throw percentage and third in three-pointers per game. Nick Schneiders ranks sixth with 2.7 offensive rebounds per game and 11th in blocked shots.
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 opponents the Spartans have played so far this year, the opponents are a combined 30-14. No team Upstate has played this year has a losing record and two teams have just one loss (Wake Forest and Cincinnati each have 5-1 records).
Byrd Flies To The Top
Jeremy Byrd collected six steals in the season-openning game at Utah, surpassing Terrance Gist (276) to move atop the all-time steals list at Upstate. Byrd now has 286 picks in his stellar four-year career with the Spartans.
Spartans No. 56
According to the latest strength of schedule ranking by Jeff Sagarin, Upstate has the 56th toughest schedule out of 341 teams in Division I college basketball.
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.
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. Both have missed key minutes in four of the seven games they have played and their production would surely increase with added minutes on the floor. Still, the two turn in solid averages with Davis averaging 8.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and Schneiders turning in 6.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per outing this season.
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' 8.4 ppg and 7.0 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.
Scouting Brevard
Brevard enters tonight's game with a 1-6 overall record, having dropped its last two contests. The Tornados opened the season with a four-game losing streak, dropping back-to-back decisions to Alaska-Anchorage (80-53 and 80-48) as well as losses to Pfeiffer (99-65) and Mars Hill (89-67). Brevard won its first game of the season in a 71-70 overtime thriller against Virginia Intermont. The Tornados have dropped the last two games, a 75-64 decision against Tusculum and a 86-74 decision versus Lees-McRae.
Brevard is in its second year as a member of NCAA Division II after making the transition from NAIA status.
About The Team
Brevard comes into tonight's game averaging 63.1 points per contest while giving up 82.7 points per outing. The Tornados shoot at a 43.2 percent clip, including hitting 33.7 percent of their shots from behind the three-point arc. Brevard is converting 60.9 percent of its free throw attempts.
Opponents are shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 43.4 percent from behind the arc against Brevard. Opposing teams have been to the foul line 122 times against the Tornados.
Brevard does work on the glass to the tune of 29.3 rebounds per outing, while giving up 35.9 boards to opponents.
Jonathan Whitson leads Brevard in scoring and rebounding. The sophomore from Clyde, N.C., averages 18.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Andrew Freeman also averages in double figures for the Tornados, scoring at a 10.7 ppg clip.
Five Brevard players have dished out 10 or more assists on the year, while Joseph Chilton and Whitson have blocked 12 and 11 shots this season.
About The Coach
Head Coach Mike Jones is in his ninth year at the helm of the Brevard men's basketball program. He is in his 11th season as a head coach overall. He is 126-135 at Brevard and owns an overall record of 165-155. He previously was the coach at Hazard Community College in Kentucky. He is a 1985 graduate of Eastern Kentucky and assisted on the staff at EKU as a graduate assistant and, later, as an assistant coach.
