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Contact: David Beall, dbeall@uscupstate.edu

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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's basketball team fought down to the wire Saturday evening in front of a sold out crowd, but the shots would not fall late as Northern Kentucky University picked up a 70-65 victory inside the Hodge Center in Atlantic Sun Conference action.

The Spartans (13-11, 7-4 A-Sun) see their four-game winning streak come to an end and fall a game back in the race for a conference championship, while the Norse (8-11, 6-5 A-Sun) win their fourth straight conference game in their inaugural season in the league.

Trailing by three and 29 seconds showing on the clock, Upstate had one last chance to complete the comeback and pull even with NKU. After running the clock down to 14 seconds, Ty Greene stepped back and launched a contested three-pointer that grazed the front iron, but Adrian Rodgers cleaned up the offensive rebound and kept the possession alive.

Northern Kentucky scrambled to cover the Spartans as the seconds ticked away, leaving Rodgers wide open in the corner, but the sophomore's game-tying three-pointer rattled out and the Norse grabbed the rebound and converted free throws on the other end for a five-point victory.

"I congratulate Northern Kentucky, I don't know if we were physically and mentally ready to play," said USC Upstate Head Coach Eddie Payne. "It was a constant struggle with matchups and we pretty much got what we deserved, I don't think we deserved to win the game and we didn't."

Four players finished in double figures for Northern Kentucky, led by a game-high 17 points from Chad Jackson who went 5-for-6 from the field and 7-for-10 from the charity stripe.

Ricardo Glenn led Upstate with 14 points and five rebounds, while Torrey Craig and Jodd Maxey tallied 13 points apiece. The Spartans managed to connect on just three of 11 three-point attempts, including misfiring on all six second-half treys.

Northern Kentucky made the most of 16 Spartan turnovers, turning those miscues into 23 points the other way. Upstate made a living in the paint, scoring 34 of its 65 points in the lane, including nine second-chance points on 10 offensive rebounds.

The first half featured five ties and 11 lead changes as the Spartans and Norse battled back and forward, but NKU used an 8-0 run late in the opening period to take a six-point edge into intermission.

The Norse quickly created a double-digit lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but Upstate slowly chipped away and cut the lead to just three a trio of different times down the stretch before NKU survived in the final seconds.

The Spartans return to action next week, traveling south to take on Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast for a two-game road swing in the Sunshine State. Upstate will look to avenge losses at the buzzer to both clubs earlier this season. Tip-off against Stetson is slated for next Thursday at 7 p.m. in DeLand, Fla.

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