Spartans Earn First D-I Victory After Decisive Second Half Run
12/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2007
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -
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"We've been playing road games and we were able to come back home and get a nice win. We needed that."
Eddie Payne, Upstate Head Coach
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Upstate played its home opener Thursday against Brevard after playing its first seven games of the season away from the friendly confines of the Hodge Center. The Spartans improved to 1-7 on the year. Brevard fell to 1-7 on the season. Upstate is 5-1 in home openers under head coach Eddie Payne.
Upstate was in control throughout the game, but it wasn't until the 24-0 run starting at the 13:45 mark of the second half and ending at the 8:59 mark that the Spartans put the game away for good. Luke Payne nailed two three-pointers and had eight points during the run, while Gabor Boros contributed seven points during the spurt to lead the Spartans. Payne's layup with 9:16 remaining in the game gave Upstate a 66-34 lead.
Although Brevard cut the lead to 21 points, the game was well in hand for the Spartans as Upstate cruised to the victory.
"We've been playing road games and we were able to come back home and get a nice win," said Upstate head coach Eddie Payne. "We needed that. We were able to play a lot of players and get guys a lot of minutes. It's always nice to win. That's why we do this. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do and a lot of guys need to continue to improve."
Upstate used an 8-0 run to start the game, gaining control early. Zac Rich hit three three-pointers in the first half to ignite the Spartans. His first three-pointer gave Upstate a 12-point lead with 12:27 to play before halftime.
Brevard cut the lead to seven after a 5-0 run, but Rich nailed another three ball to push the lead back to double digits at 21-11 with 10:05 to go. Joseph Chilton's three-pointer with 6:58 to go cut the Upstate lead to six points. Payne nailed a three-pointer and Josh Chavis converted two free throws to push the lead to 11 points. After Brevard cut the lead to seven again, Rich's three-pointer with 57 seconds to go before the intermission gave Upstate a 12-point advantage. The Spartans settled for a 35-24 lead at the half.
Rich led the Spartans in the first half with his nine points off of the bench. Chavis finished the first period with eight points, while Payne and Mezie Uzochukwu each scored six. Brevard's Jonathan Whitson kept the Tornados in the game with 11 first half points.
After maintaining an 11-point advantage through the first three minutes of the second half, Upstate saw Brevard cut the lead to six points on three-pointers from Andrew Freeman and Chilton. The teams traded baskets to setup Upstate's decisive 24-0 run that put an end to the game.
Payne led a balanced Upstate offensive effort, finishing with 14 points, five assists and three rebounds. Boros and Uzochukwu each finished with 12, while Chavis added 11 points and four boards. Jeremy Byrd added a solid four points, four assists and five steals.
"We wanted to give Mezie (Uzochukwu) more looks at the four spot," said Payne. "We liked what we saw there. We also wanted to get Gabor (Boros) more minutes. He did some nice things for us. Four assists and a steal without a turnover is good. And Jeremy (Byrd) did a nice job. He played exactly the way we wanted him to play. I was really pleased with that."
Whitson led Brevard with 20 points, five rebounds and four steals. Chilton added 11 points, four boards and three blocks, while Freeman added eight points for the Tornados.
