SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With time winding down in regulation, Chalmers Rogers (Fort Mill, S.C./Fort Mill HS) scored his lone basket of the game with just three seconds remaining to lift USC Upstate past ETSU, 60-59, on Sunday afternoon inside the Hodge Center.

Sunday's victory was the first ever for the Spartans (2-6, 1-0 A-Sun) over the Bucs.  Upstate had come so close in its previous six match-ups with ETSU (3-3, 0-1 A-Sun), as the Spartans had fallen to the Bucs by scores of one, five, six, seven (twice) and 10. 

With ETSU owning a 59-58 advantage and just 14 seconds remaining in regulation, ETSU forward Tommy Hubbard stepped on the baseline, giving the Spartans one last chance.

Torrey Craig (Rock Hill, S.C./Great Falls HS) made a tremendous save underneath the basket after he lost the ball on his drive along the baseline.  After a scrum for the ball, it was Rogers who grabbed the ball and connected on the lay-up, giving the Spartans a 60-59 lead. 

ETSU quickly raced the other way and guard Micah Williams got a good look on his three-point attempt from the left wing, but it hit off of the back rim.  After the horn sounded, the Spartans raced toward Rogers to celebrate their second-consecutive victory.

Mezie Uzochukwu (Greensboro, N.C./Northeast Guilford HS) had scored the first basket of the game for the Spartans in the last two outings, but on Sunday it was another senior who got the Spartans on the board first as Josh Chavis (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley HS) connected on his first trey of the game to give the Spartans an early 3-0 advantage.

The two teams battled throughout the first half, but it was the Spartans that led the entire half with the exception of a 16-second stretch when the score was tied at 3-3.  Upstate used a quick 5-0 spurt after ETSU trimmed the lead to just two at 16-14 to take a seven-point lead, its largest of the game.  The quick run was started by Babatunde Olumuyiwa's (Athens, Ga./Clarke Central HS) dunk and was capped by Craig's three to put Upstate ahead 21-14 with 4:19 remaining in the first half.

ETSU followed with a 6-0 run of its own as the Bucs trimmed the lead to just one at 21-20 with 1:57 remaining in the first half.  For the second consecutive game, the Spartans owned the halftime lead, this time it was a five-point advantage, 29-24.

The Spartans extended the lead to seven, 31-24, when Uzochukwu scored on a layup at the 19:13 mark.  ETSU followed Uzochukwu's layup with an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 32-31 with 17:22 remaining.

The ETSU run was started by back-to-back dunks by Isiah Brown and Adam Sollazzo.  Brown got ETSU within one after connecting on a layup and the Bucs took the lead on Micah Williams layup.

The Spartans re-gained the lead 27 seconds later at 34-32 when Chavis connected on one of his four three pointers of the afternoon.  Upstate extended its lead to 42-36 with 13:20 remaining after Olumuyiwa connected on the second of his two free throw attempts.

Micah Williams tied the game for the Bucs at 44-44 after connecting on his three-pointer with 10:25 to go.  Upstate's Craig answered right back as he connected on a trey with 10:12 remaining, putting the Spartans ahead 47-44.

After ETSU trimmed the lead to just one with 8:35 remaining, Upstate used a 8-2 run to take a seven-point lead, 57-50, with less than six minutes to play.

The back and forth affair continued as the Bucs used a 9-1 run to go ahead 59-58 with just 54 seconds remaining in regulation.  It was just the second time the Bucs led in the game.

The Bucs run was started by a free throw by Sollazzo, followed by a three-pointer from Mike Smith and a layup by Isiah Brown.  Micah Williams was successful on both of his free throw attempts with 1:18 left and Sollazzo hit the first of two attempts to put ETSU in front 59-58 with 54 seconds to play.

The Bucs got the offensive rebound after Sollazzo missed his second attempt with 54 seconds remaining. Mike Smith missed his jumper from the left side, but it was tracked down by Tommy Hubbard.  However, before Hubbard could get the ball to a teammate, he stepped on the baseline turning the ball over to Upstate.

Upstate forward Chalmers Rogers had just two field goal attempts on the afternoon, but it was his second attempt that gave him his only points of the game and gave Upstate its second straight win inside the Hodge Center, a 60-59 victory.  The Spartans opened the newly renovated Hodge Center on Monday night with a thrilling 93-91 double-overtime victory over UNC Asheville.

Torrey Craig was the catalyst for the Spartans on Sunday as the freshman scored 18 points, just one off of his career-high, while grabbing a career-best 15 rebounds.  Craig finished 7-for-13 from the field, including 4-of-9 from beyond the three point arc. 

Three other Spartans also had strong outings against ETSU.  Chavis finished with 12 points, while Carter Cook (Clemmons, N.C./Calvary Baptist Day School) and Olumuyiwa finished with nine points each.

Olumuyiwa recorded four blocks on Sunday and after just eight games this season he has 28 blocks, placing him in a tie for seventh in school-history (single-season) with Ante Pikunic (2006-07).

Isiah Brown led a trio of ETSU players in double-figures on Sunday.  Brown scored a team-high 16 points, while Mike Smith and Micah Williams added 15 and 11, respectively.

Upstate shot 46.9% from the floor on Sunday, its best mark of the season.  Meanwhile, ETSU shot just 33.8% from the floor, including a 23.7% mark in the first half.

ETSU owned the advantage in points in the paint (36-22), second chance points (21-7) and fast break points (6-2).  Upstate led the way in points off of turnovers (12-11) and bench scoring (18-5).

Upstate will return to action next Saturday afternoon when it travels to Raleigh, N.C., to face the N.C. State Wolfpack.  Tip-off between the Spartans and Wolfpack inside Reynolds Coliseum is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.