University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Florida International
Upstate Tops FIU Behind Stingy Defense
11/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Spartanburg, S.C. – Fred Miller scored 15 points and USC Upstate held its third opponent to fewer than 55 points en route to a 68-53 victory over FIU Thursday afternoon in the opening game of the Spartanburg Marriott Upstate Classic from the Hodge Center.
Ty Greene added 14 points, four assists and two steals, while Josh Cuthbertson scored a career-high 13 points to go along with six rebounds.
Dennis Mavin led the Panthers with 14 points, and Adrian Diaz registered a game-high nine rebounds.
USC Upstate and FIU went back-and-forth during the first half that saw five ties and six lead changes. Jason Boswell hit a three-pointer with just over four minutes remaining to pull the Panthers even with Upstate at 22-22. But Upstate closed the half on a 10-4 run over the final 3:36 to open up a 32-26 lead at halftime.
The Spartans used an 11-3 run to open the second half and didn't allow an FIU field goal until Marco Procher Jiminez hit a three-pointer at the 11:43 mark to cut the Upstate deficit to 11. The Spartans scored the next seven points to build a 50-32 lead following a pair of free throws from Greene.
Upstate would go on to lead by as many as 20 points while holding the Panthers to just eight field goals and 27.6 percent shooting in the second half.
The Spartans also finished with 12 steals, which included four from Mario Blessing, and currently lead the Atlantic Sun with 12.8 steals per game.
The victory for Upstate gave the Spartans their fourth win of the season, marking the best five-game start to a season since joining Division I in 2007-08.
Upstate continues play in the tournament Friday at 6 p.m. when the Spartans host Cal State Fullerton in the fourth game of the event. Cal State Fullerton opened play Thursday with a 67-62 victory over Wright State.
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