Upstate Rounds Out Pre-Holiday Home Slate Against Winthrop
12/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2009
Game Notes | ASun.TV | Live Audio | Gametracker
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate plays its final home game before the holiday break and looks to improve to 2-2 at home this season when it plays host to in-state rival Winthrop Wednesday night at 7:00 in the Hodge Center. Upstate enters the game with a 1-7 record, having dropped four games by eight points or less. The Spartans will look for revenge over Winthrop after the Eagles rallied from 13 points down in the second half to take a 49-46 victory on Nov. 21 in Rock Hill. Winthrop enters the game with a 4-4 record and a two-game winning streak after taking an 82-68 win over High Point on Dec. 5 and a 64-51 victory over Barton Saturday. Upstate leads the all-time series, 8-6, and had won two games in a row prior to this year's game in Rock Hill.
Fans not in attendance at the game can watch the action live online for a fee at www.ASun.TV, the conference's live video streaming service. Fans can also listen to the game for free and receive live statistical updates via the official Upstate Athletics Web site, www.upstatespartans.com.
Looking Back At Florida Gulf Coast
Josh Chavis sank an Upstate single-game record 10 three-pointers and Nick Schneiders blocked a single-game record seven blocked shots and took sole possession of the career blocks record at Upstate, but the night ended on a down note as the Spartans dropped an 86-82 decision to Florida Gulf Coast in the Hodge Center. The game was a battle between two teams that needed a win and two teams that were on fire from three-point range. Upstate converted 13-of-25 from behind the arc, aided by Chavis' 10-of-14 performance from downtown. FGCU, though, was up to the task as well, making 9-of-17 from long range to match Upstate's performance. Trailing by eight with under three minutes to play in the game, Upstate made an attempt to get back into the game. Led by Carter Cook, who scored 12 points in the final 2:31 of the game and finished with a career-high 16 points, Upstate cut the lead to two with 22 seconds to play, but FGCU converted two free throws and a dunk to take the win. Chavis finished with a career-high and Upstate Division I single-game record 34 points to lead the Spartans. Pat Posey flirted with a double-double before finishing with eight points and a career-high nine rebounds for the Spartans.
Scouting Winthrop
Winthrop enters Wednesday night's game at Upstate riding a two-game winning streak after claiming an 82-68 victory over Big South rival High Point on Dec. 5 and taking a 64-51 win over Barton last Saturday. The Eagles also took a tough loss in overtime to Radford, falling 61-59 in Rock Hill.
Winthrop will look to use a solid defense to again battle Upstate. In the previous meeting between the two schools earlier this year, the Eagles held Upstate to just 46 points in a 49-46 victory. Winthrop allows opponents to score just 65 points per game on the season, though the Eagles score at just a 61 ppg clip. Winthrop holds opponents to 41 percent shooting from the field for the year. Opponents are a respectable 35 percent from behind the arc. The Eagles have struggled from the field on the season. They have shot the ball just 37 percent from the field and 24 percent from the arc.
Defense is a priority for Winthrop. The Eagles have forced opponents into more turnovers than they have committed themselves. Winthrop has committed 126 miscues on the year, while opponents have turned the ball over 144 times.
Andre Jones is the only Eagle to average in double figures for the year. He scores at a 10.1 ppg clip and is tied for the team lead with 19 assists. He also tops the club with seven three-pointers on the year.
Eight other Eagles who have played at least seven games average at least four points a game as head coach Randy Peele utilizes his depth. Matt Morgan is second on the team with eight points a game and shares the team lead with seven blocked shots. He also tops the club with a 58.0 shooting percentage.
Peele is in his seventh season as a head coach in college basketball and his third at Winthrop, following four years as an assistant in the program. He owns a 37-35 record at the helm of the Eagles program, leading Winthrop to the 2008 Big South Conference title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in his first year as head coach. Prior to his stint at Winthrop, Peele served as head coach at UNC Greensboro from 1995-99, leading the Spartans to two Big South championships, one Big South Tournament title and one appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He owns a career record of 80-101. He has also served as an assistant at Virginia Tech, St. Michael's College, Tennessee-Martin, Campbell and UNC Greensboro.
Schneiders All Alone At The Top
On a night when Nick Schneiders needed just one blocked shot to take sole possession on the all-time record at Upstate, he tied his own career-best, as well as the single-game school record, with seven against Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 14). He now has 143 blocks in his four-year career with the Spartans. With the career record, he now owns all three of the school's blocked shots records. In addition to the 143 career blocks and seven blocks in a game, he also swatted a program-best 79 shots last year while leading the A-Sun.
Chavis' Record-Setting Night
Oh what a night, a great song made popular by The Four Seasons. But on Monday, Dec. 14, it stood for Josh Chavis' performance as the junior point guard did everything he could to try to get a win for the Spartans. He sank a single-game school record 10 three-pointers en route to scoring a career-high and school Division I single-game record 34 points against Florida Gulf Coast. The 10 three-pointers is the fourth-most by a Division I player this year and the most by a player who failed to make a 2-point basket in the same game. He played 37 minutes for Upstate in the game, missing just over a minute in the second half. For his efforts, Chavis was highlighted on ESPN.com's Inside the Boxscores section of their Web site as one of five noteworthy accomplishments in all of Division I college basketball.
Monumental Night All Around
Several Upstate players achieved individual honors in Upstate's 86-82 loss against Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 14. As noted above, Josh Chavis broke the school's single-game 3-point record with 10 en route to scoring a career-high and program Division I-best 34 points. But, he was not alone. Nick Schneiders tied his own single-game school record with seven blocked shots and moved into sole possession of the all-time record at Upstate with 143. Carter Cook scored 13 of Upstate's final 17 points to help lead Upstate to within two points of the lead late in the game, finishing with a career-high 16 points. Caleb Palkert grabbed a career-high five rebounds, while Pat Posey finished with a career-high eight rebounds and four assists.
Torching The Nets
For the second time in three games, Upstate has scorched the nets in the Hodge Center. Monday night against Florida Gulf Coast, the Spartans hit 13-of-25 shots from behind the 3-point arc, led by Josh Chavis' record-setting 10-for-14 performance. Upstate also shot 72 percent from the free throw line. In the last two games at home, Upstate has shot 51.3 percent from the field, 56.8 percent from the 3-point arc and 71.9 percent from the charity stripe. The Spartans also average nearly 77 points per game in the Hodge.
Call It A Homecoming
Not since joining the ranks of NCAA Division I in 2007 has Upstate played this many home games prior to Christmas. Wednesday's game against Winthrop will be the fourth game played in the Hodge Center prior to the holiday break. With the Spartans already playing games against UNC Greensboro (76-70 L, Nov. 24), Stetson (78-56 W, Nov. 30) and Florida Gulf Coast (86-82 L, Dec. 14) in the Hodge Center, Upstate is playing the most home games prior to the break since playing two games at home in 2007-08.
