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Post-Game Notes

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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In what turned out to be a tale of two halves, the USC Upstate men's basketball team erased a 13-point halftime deficit as it rallied past Jacksonville State, 50-48, Thursday night inside the Hodge Center.

With less than 20 seconds to play and the shot clock winding down, Torrey Craig (Great Falls, S.C) drove from the top of the key and connected on what proved to be the game-winning basket as the Spartans improved to 6-2 on the season and a perfect 4-0 at home.

"I told the team there were a lot of negatives that I could have focused on, but instead I told them I was proud of their effort in not giving up and continuing to battle," said head coach Eddie Payne.  "They kept working, kept believing and stayed together mentality, and despite continuing to make mistakes, they earned the win."

Upstate trailed 30-17 at half and Jacksonville State (2-6) twice took a 15-point lead, the final time coming on Dion Waiters jumper with 17 minutes to play in the second half.

From there Upstate began to slowly chip away at the Gamecock lead.  After three consecutive made free throws and an Adrian Rodgers' (Alpharetta, Ga.) jumper, the Spartans trailed by just 10 with 14:04 to play.

The Spartans trimmed the lead to single digits for the first time since the 6:37 mark of the first half when Craig connected on a lay-up despite being fouled with 12:06 remaining in the second period.  Upstate trimmed the lead to just five points (36-31) when Craig grabbed a loose ball and laid it back in with 10:34 to play.

The Gamecock lead fluctuated between two and five points over the next six-plus minutes of action.  Mario Blessing's running lay-up with 4:18 to play tied the game for just the second time of the contest.

After the Gamecocks regained the lead on a Brian Williams free throw with four minutes to play, the Spartans took their first lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Craig. 

Upstate pushed the lead to two (47-45) when Adrian Rodgers made the first of two free throws with three minutes left. 

Jacksonville State tied the contest at 48 when Nick Cook sank one of two free throws. 

Craig's lay-up with 18 seconds to play gave him 20 points on the night and propelled Upstate to the two-point win. 

Jacksonville State's last chance came with two seconds to play but Brian Williams' contested jumper didn't fall and Upstate celebrated its fourth-consecutive win.

The Gamecocks led the entire first half and took its largest lead of the half, 14 (24-10), with 4:01 to play in the first half.

The Spartans will begin a seven-game road swing beginning Sunday afternoon at UNC Asheville.  Tip-off inside Kimmel Arena is slated for 2 p.m.