Jan. 12, 2009

Box Score

DeLand, Fla. - In a thriller that went down to the final seconds, USC Upstate missed out on late opportunities and Stetson rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to take a 56-50 victory in A-Sun men's basketball action Monday night in the Edmunds Center.

Upstate fell to 2-13 overall and 1-5 in the A-Sun with the loss. The Spartans return home Saturday to face defending A-Sun regular season and tournament champion, Belmont, at 1:00 p.m. in the Hodge Center. Stetson improved to 7-8 overall and 4-3 in the league with the win.

"We played harder and did a nice job of building the lead playing inside-out," said Upstate head coach Eddie Payne. "We made bad decisions when the game was on the line and they took advantage of it. Our young backcourt has to make better decisions."

The last four minutes provided much of the fireworks in the game as Stetson spurted out to a seven-point lead only to see Upstate attempt to rally back. The Spartans cut the Hatter lead to four, but failed to trim into the lead despite having four-straight cracks at doing so. Upstate committed three turnovers and missed a layup in the final two minutes as Stetson was able to keep the Spartans at bay.

Stetson struck first after the final media timeout and with the score tied at 47-47. Tim Lang hit a short jumper in the lane with 3:19 to play to give Stetson a 49-47 lead. Garfield Blair then nailed a three-pointer after an Upstate turnover to give the Hatters a 52-47 lead with 2:43 to play. Blair nailed a long two-point bucket to give Stetson a 54-47 lead with 2:05 remaining.

Davis ended the Stetson run with a layup and a free throw to cut the lead to 54-50 with 1:49 to play. Upstate then missed four opportunities to cut into the lead. Upstate forced a Hatter turnover on Stetson's next possession, but could not capitalize after turning the ball back over to the Hatters. The Spartans had a second opportunity to cut into the lead after Lang missed a three-pointer, but committed another turnover to give Stetson the ball back.

Upstate had a third-straight opportunity to cut into the four-point deficit after Stetson missed the front end of a one-and-one, but missed a short shot in the lane. Lang was fouled, but missed the front end of the one-and-one to give the Spartans their fourth crack at cutting into the four-point deficit, but Upstate committed another turnover. Upstate scored just seven points in the final 12:21 of the game with Gordon's three-pointer to give Upstate a 47-44 lead the only field goal during that span.

Upstate's ability to create Stetson turnovers kept the Spartans in the game in the first half and led to a late run as the Spartans got within one, 26-25, at halftime. Upstate forced 14 turnovers and scored 15 points off Hatter miscues in the opening 20 minutes. The Spartans needed the Stetson turnovers badly as Upstate shot just 33 percent for the half. It wasn't until late in the half that the Spartans began to hit shots consistently, making its last five shots of the half.

After Upstate cut a 9-2 lead to 9-8, Stetson regained momentum with a 14-2 run to open a 23-10 lead with 7:43 to play in the half. Just as was the case in the first part of the half, Upstate rallied to get back into the game. The Spartans held Stetson scoreless on eight-straight trips down the court to get within five, 23-18, with 4:11 to play before the half. The Spartans nailed their last five shots of the half and held Stetson to just one basket, a three-pointer, in the last 7:42. The offensive spurt and the solid defense allowed Upstate to cut the lead to one at halftime.

"A lot of times when we get behind we kind of panic and lose focus. We didn't lose focus in the first half and stayed in the game plan and kept chipping away at the lead," said Payne.

Davis was tremendous for Upstate in the half, finishing with 13 points to lead the Spartans. He was the only Upstate player to have more than one basket in the half.

While Upstate started slow in the first half, the Spartans got off quickly in the second. Josh Chavis nailed two three-pointers and Upstate outscored Stetson 18-7 to storm into the lead, 43-33, with 12:22 to play. De'Marion Gordon's three-pointer at the 12:22 mark gave Upstate its 10-point lead and capped a run of 33-10 run from the first half and extending into the second.

Davis had to sit to get treatment for a minor leg injury and exited the game at the 10:58 mark with the Spartans leading, 43-35. Upstate clung to the lead, holding a 43-39 advantage when Davis came back onto the court with 8:49 to play. However, he picked up two quick fouls, his third and fourth of the game, and had to go back to the bench just 48 seconds later.

With Davis on the bench, Stetson finished its rally back into the lead. Brandon Williams' three-pointer with 6:57 to play gave the Hatters a 44-43 lead. Gordon's three-pointer falling down gave Upstate the lead back at 47-44, but Mark Lohuis answered with a three of his own to tie the game, setting up the final four minutes of the game.

Davis finished with 19 points to lead all scorers in the game. He also pulled down five rebounds. Schneiders added 13 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Gordon added eight points and two assists for the Spartans.

Blair finished with a double-double for the Spartans, tallying 16 points and 12 rebounds for Stetson. He also dished out a game-high four assists. A.J. Smith added eight points for the Hatters.