Upstate Entertains Navy, Bob Jones this Week in Home Openers
11/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's basketball team, after beginning its season with two straight road contests, returns to the Hodge Center this week as it hosts the Navy Midshipmen and Bob Jones Bruins in its first home games of the 2015-16 campaign.
The Spartans host Navy at 7:30 p.m. in its home opener Thursday evening before welcoming Bob Jones to Spartanburg Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. matchup in the first game of the Palmetto State Shootout. The first 200 USC Upstate students in attendance for Thursday's contest will receive a free Upstate Athletics t-shirt and the first 100 USC Upstate students will also get a #SpartanStrong wristband.
Upstate (0-2) opened its week Monday evening with a 74-73 loss at Presbyterian College after having four players score at least 10 points for the first time since the CIT opener last season against James Madison in Spartanburg. Damian Goodwin led the Spartans offensively as he tied his career-high of 14 points, while Deion Holmes and Mike Cunningham also set career-bests with 12 and 10 points. Michael Buchanan added 10 points and Marvin Smith added a career-high nine. Josh Cuthbertson tied his career-highs of seven assists and nine rebounds.
Goodwin and Buchanan are both leading Upstate offensively this season at 10.0 points per game, while Cuthbertson has contributed a team-leading 8.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per contest. Buchanan is shooting 60.0% from the field to rank second in the A-Sun. Cuthbertson sits second in the conference in assists and tied for sixth in rebounding. Tristan Thomas is one of six players tied for eighth in the league at 1.5 steals per game.
Navy has started its season 0-2 with losses to Florida and College of Charleston, and Bob Jones is undefeated at 5-0 following an 85-69 victory versus North Georgia on Nov. 17. The Spartans are facing the Midshipmen for the first time in program history Thursday and is the opening game of a home-and-home series this season. Upstate owns a 2-0 lead all-time against Bob Jones including a 107-41 victory last season.
Fans can follow the action on www.upstatespartans.com via live stats. The game is being televised on ESPN3. Updates will also be posted on the Upstate men's basketball Twitter page (@UPSTMBB).
The Spartans continue their six-game homestand Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. against Winthrop.
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