Spartans Look to Close out November with Victory over Victory
11/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Off to its best start of the Division I era, the USC Upstate men's basketball team looks to record win number five Sunday afternoon when they host Victory University at 4 p.m. Sunday's contest will be the fourth and final contest of the UTPA Tip-Off Classic for the Spartans.
For those fans that cannot attend Sunday's contest, there are several ways you can follow the action from the opening tip to the final horn. Fans can follow the action by clicking the live stats and live video links above.
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Spartan Specs
• Torrey Craig paced the Spartans with 20 points in the 78-63 victory over UTPA (11/25/11). Craig connected on 7-of-10 FG attempts (2-5, 3FGs) and was a perfect 4-of-4 at the line. Adrian Rodgers and Ricardo Glenn pitched in 12 points and 11 points, respectively, to help Upstate claim their second home victory of the season.
• The Spartans tallied 16 assists on 28 made field goals against UTPA (11/25/11).
• After using five different lineups in its first five games, Upstate used a familiar lineup against UTPA (11/25/11). The Spartans are now 2-0 when Mario Blessing, Torrey Craig, Ricardo Glenn, Ty Greene and Chalmers Rogers are the starting five.
• Ricardo Glenn earned UTPA Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament honors as well as A-Sun Player of the Week accolades after averaging 14.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per outing in three games in Edinburg, Texas. Glenn also sank 69.6% of his field goal attempts over the weekend.
• Ricardo Glenn set career marks in points (19) and field goals made (8) in Upstate's 82-74 win over Texas State. Against the Bobcats, Torrey Craig notched his first double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
• Ty Greene scored a career-best 20 points in the five-point loss to Toledo (11/19/11). Greene connected on a career-best five triples against the Rockets.
• Ricardo Glenn and Torrey Craig led the Spartans with 15 points each in the 70-66 win over UTPA (11/18/11). Jodd Maxey contributed to the effort with a career-best 13 points.
• After scoring just four points at Arkansas (11/11/11), Torrey Craig quadrupled that total with 16 points behind a 6-for-11 effort from the field against Piedmont College (11/14/11). He was also just one rebound shy of a double-double.
• Rob Elam grabbed a career-high four rebounds against Piedmont College (11/14/11).
• Ty Greene scored a then-career-best 13 points in Upstate's victory over Piedmont College (11/14/11). He connected on four field goal attempts and four free throw attempts.
• Against Piedmont College (11/14/11), Adrian Rodgers posted a career-best 22 points behind a 9-for-13 effort from the field. He was the first player to score 20 or more points in a game since Torrey Craig posted 20 points at Stetson (2/4/11).
• Jodd Maxey finished just two points shy of his first career double-digit scoring game with eight points vs. Piedmont College.
• Jodd Maxey made his first start in a Spartan uniform against Arkansas (11/11/11).
Today's Opponent – Victory University
After dropping a pair of contests in Edinburg, Texas, Victory entered the weekend with a 6-3 record overall. As part of the UTPA Tip-Off Classic, the Eagles fell to Toledo (L, 47-90, 11/21/11) and host-Texas Pan American (L, 63-84, 11/22/11).
After returning from Texas, the Eagles again hit the road, this time for a pair of games in Louisville, Ky. The squad opened the weekend against Spalding, with Saturday's opponent TBD.
The only other loss for the Eagles came on the road when they dropped an 86-84 decision at Lyon College (11/1/11).
Following Sunday's contest in Spartanburg, S.C., Victory will face the College of Ozarks (12/2/11).
20-20 Vision
For the second consecutive season, the Spartans have opened their home slate with a pair of wins. Not only are the Spartans 2-0 at home, in each victory, Upstate has had a player reach the 20-point plateau.
In the home opener against Piedmont College (11/14/11), rookie Adrian Rodgers scored 22 points to lead the Spartans to the 91-66 win. Rodgers connected on nine of his 13 field goal attempts (1-for-1, 3FG) and was 2-of-4 at the charity strip.
In Upstate's 15-point victory over Texas-Pan American (W, 78-63, 11/25/11), Torrey Craig tallied a season-high 20 points. Craig shot 70 percent from the floor in the contest (7-10, 2-5 3FGs) and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
