Spartans Cruise to Victory Over Bob Jones
11/25/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Spartanburg, S.C. – Michael Buchanan scored a career-high 18 points and USC Upstate used a 50-16 advantage in points in the paint on its way to a 94-67 victory over Bob Jones Monday night from the Hodge Center.
Senior Jodd Maxey added 18 points to go along with a career-high 14 rebounds to help the Spartans set a school record during the Division I era with 56 team rebounds. Upstate held a 56-28 edge in rebounds and had four players with at least seven rebounds.
Junior guard Ty Greene scored a game-high 21 points to lead a quartet of Spartans in double figures. Torrey Craig chipped in with 13 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
Fred Miller tied a career-high with six assists to help Upstate finish with 15 assists to mark the fourth straight game in which the Spartans have reached that mark. Earlier in the week, Upstate set a school record in the Division I era with 26 assists Friday at Kent State.
Kyle Turner led the Bruins with 18 points and five rebounds. Larry Taylor finished with 13 points, five rebounds and 10 assists.
The Spartans held Bob Jones to two points for the first 7:39 of the game and opened up a 15-2 edge and would go on to lead by as many as 16 points in the first half. A Turner jumper with four minutes left in the half pulled Bob Jones to within eight points, but Upstate closed the half on a 10-2 run to hold a 38-22 lead at halftime.
Buchanan scored on tip-in just over three minutes into the second half to push the Upstate lead to 21 points at 50-29. Bob Jones would get no closer than 18 points and the Spartans would lead by as many as 29 points on their way to their third win in the last four games.
Upstate improved to 9-3 in home openers under head coach Eddie Payne and has now won its last four home openers, winning by an average of 27.0 points per game during that span.
USC Upstate returns to action Saturday at 2 p.m. when the Spartans welcome Tennessee State to the Hodge Center.
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