Feb. 6, 2010

Box Score

Kennesaw, Ga. - In what has become the norm when Upstate and Kennesaw State meet on the hardwood, Saturday night's A-Sun men's basketball game was a thriller. In the end, Caleb Palkert came off the bench with a career-high 10 points in the second half to spark Upstate as the Spartans took a 68-64 victory over the Owls in the KSU Convocation Center.

Upstate's win over Kennesaw State gave the Spartans the season sweep of the Owls, marking the first time since joining the A-Sun that Upstate has swept a league opponent. The Spartans took a 66-62 overtime victory on Jan. 17 in Spartanburg. Upstate improved to 4-18 overall and 4-9 in the A-Sun with the win. The Spartans travel to Macon, Ga., to take on Mercer Monday night at 7:30. Kennesaw State fell to 12-13 overall and 7-7 in the league, ending its six-game winning streak in the loss.

Palkert came up huge for Upstate in the second half. After playing the first half without scoring, the freshman from Excelsior, Minn., delivered throughout the second 20 minutes of play. He notched his first bucket to give Upstate a nine-point lead, 46-37, with 13:37 to play.

After Kennesaw State made two three-pointers to cut the Upstate lead to three with 12:44 to play, Palkert scored four straight points to increase the Spartans' advantage to seven with 11:50 remaining.

Kennesaw State again fought back into the game and methodically whittled away at the Upstate lead. The Owls tied the game at 60-60 with three minutes to play. Again, Palkert came up big for Upstate. He converted a layup while drawing body contact in the air to give the Spartans a 62-60 lead and his offensive putback with 26 seconds remaining gave Upstate a five-point advantage.

"Caleb was big and finished some plays around the basket," said Upstate head coach Eddie Payne. "He is getting things done. He is a raw talent, but has the ability to produce."

After Zadrian Gibson hit a jumper and Markeith Cummings made 1-of-2 from the free throw line to cut Upstate's lead to two with 14 seconds to play, the Owls fouled Josh Chavis with seven seconds remaining. Chavis, a 74 percent shooter from the free throw line and nursing an injured foot, calmly stepped up and nailed both free throws to put the game away.

"That was a really good win for our kids," said Payne. "We were really gutsy. We put in a new offensive scheme during our break since last Sunday. We ran a lot of motion and I think that really helped us in terms of controlling tempo a little better. All nine kids played hard and contributed. Everybody made plays to help us win the ballgame tonight."

The teams battled back and forth early in the first half until Upstate used a run midway through the period to open an 11-point lead. The Spartans benefitted by the absence of Cummings from the floor. Cummings picked up two fouls and sat for the final 12:40 of the first half.

With Cummings out of the game, Upstate turned a four-point lead into an 11-point advantage with 6:25 to play before halftime. However, as is the case when the teams meet, Kennesaw State would not go away. The Owls cut Upstate's lead to five points at halftime.

Kennesaw State came out of the locker room and tried to storm into the lead early in the second half, but Upstate stood strong. After the Owls cut the lead to two just six seconds into the half, Upstate answered with seven straight points to open a nine-point lead. Upstate increased the lead to 11 with 15:46 to play before Kennesaw State made its push to tie the game late in the contest.

After struggling from the field early and shooting 41 percent in the first half, Upstate shot above 50 percent for most of the second half before finishing the half at 48 percent and the game at 45 percent. The Spartans also nailed 5-of-11 from the three-point arc while connecting on 11-of-13 from the free throw line. Upstate also out-rebounded Kennesaw State, 41-36.

Kennesaw State struggled from the field throughout the game. The Owls shot just 39 percent from the floor and 31 percent (9-of-29) from the three-point arc. They also struggled from the free throw line, missing 10-of- 17 attempts from the stripe.

Upstate placed four players in double figures for the game. Carter Cook led the way with 15 points, one off of his career-high. Ryan LeGates added 12 points and a career-high eight rebounds. Mezie Uzochukwu finished with 11 points and five rebounds, while Palkert added four rebounds and two steals to his 10 points on the night.

Despite being held in check for most of the night, Cummings finished with 18 points for Kennesaw State. Kurtis Woods added a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds for the Owls.

Upstate and Kennesaw State have met 22 times in the series that dates back to Jan. 4, 1993. Eleven of the 22 meetings have been decided by five points or less with six of the games heading to overtime. Upstate has improved to 4-1 against the Owls since joining the A-Sun in 2007.