Nov. 22, 2008

Box Score

Columbia, S.C. - Nick Schneiders finished with a career-high five blocked shots and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds, but the 7-3 center and his USC Upstate teammates were upended by South Carolina Saturday afternoon at the Colonial Center, 75-53.

Upstate fell to 0-3 on the year, having dropped games on the road at Georgia, No. 9 Notre Dame and, now, South Carolina to start the season. The Spartans play their home opener Tuesday night when the A-10's Duquesne Dukes come to the Hodge Center for a 7:00 p.m. start. South Carolina improved to 3-0 on the year with the win.

South Carolina's first half spelled the difference in the game as the Gamecocks outscored Upstate 47-25 entering halftime. The Spartans and Gamecocks battled to a 28-28 draw in the second half.

"We've got a lot of young guys out there and they make a lot of mistakes," said Upstate head coach Eddie Payne who returned to Columbia for the second time as a head coach after serving as an assistant under George Felton from 1986-91. Upstate played an exhibition game against South Carolina in 2004 when the Spartans were members of NCAA Division II . "South Carolina's guard play is the strength of their team and every time we made a mistake, they made us pay. They get down the court quickly and their guards make good decisions."

After Gabor Boros' layup cut the South Carolina lead to 7-5 with 15:26 to play in the opening 20 minutes, South Carolina went on a 17-2 run over the next six minutes to open a 24-7 lead with 9:39 to play. Evaldas Baniulis scored seven points to spark the run for the Gamecocks.

Carter Cook cut the South Carolina lead to 14 on a three-pointer, but the Gamecocks responded with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 35-12 lead with 6:50 to play in the half. The lead grew to 25 points, 42-17, with 3:16 to play before South Carolina settled for the 22-point lead at the half.

While Upstate committed just seven turnovers in the second half, South Carolina turned the miscues into 14 points that helped the Gamecocks open a double-digit lead.

"I think the big thing was that while we only forced seven turnovers in the first half we were able to turn a lot of them into baskets," said South Carolina head coach Darrin Horn.

Upstate turned things around in the second half. The Spartans out-rebounded South Carolina 22-20 and Schneiders collected all five of his blocked shots in the final 20 minutes as Upstate held South Carolina to 28 points.

South Carolina increased the lead to 27 points, 56-29, with 16:14 to play before Upstate began to whittle away at the lead. De'Marion Gordon's jumper with 8:06 to play in the game cut the Gamecock lead to 14 points, 64-50. The Spartans had an opportunity to cut further into the lead, but committed a turnover after a South Carolina offensive foul.

Zam Fredrick sank a three-pointer to give South Carolina a 17-point advantage with 7:37 to play and then both teams failed to score over the next four minutes as the Gamecocks went on for the win.

South Carolina shot 42.3 percent from the floor for the game, but was held to 30.6 percent shooting in the second half. Upstate shot 40 percent from the floor. The Spartans were 3-for-11 from the three-point arc, while the Gamecocks were 8-of-11. South Carolina forced Upstate into 20 turnovers for the game and scored 25 points off turnovers.

Bobby Davis led Upstate with 12 points and nine rebounds. Schneiders added eight points to his five blocks and 11 boards. His five blocks against the Gamecocks topped his four-block outing last January against A-Sun foe Mercer. Gordon added a career-high 10 points for the Spartans.

Fredrick led South Carolina with 23 points. Devan Downey added 16 points, six assists and four steals, while Baniulis finished with 13 points. Mike Holmes, frustrated throughout the game by Schneiders' size and defensive presence, was held to just four points on the day. He entered the game averaging 15.5 points.

"Nick (Schneiders) is turning into a youngster who can be a force in game for us," said Payne. "He's getting better. He has been getting better on steady increments and this year, he has become a force for us."