Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. – Josh Cuthbertson scored a game-high 19 points as the USC Upstate men's basketball team defeated the Lees-McRae Bobcats 88-60 Wednesday evening inside the Hodge Center.

Upstate improves to 4-11 on the season and hosts UMKC Saturday afternoon with tipoff slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN3.

Cuthbertson finished one point shy of his career-high and posted double-figures for the eighth time this season. Malik Moore added a career-high 16 points for the Spartans, with Jacob Schulte also scoring 16 on 7-for-7 shooting from the field. Deion Holmes added 13 points. Phillip Whittington pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. Mike Cunningham and Jure Span combined for 10 of Upstate's 20 assists on the night.

Kendall Isler, Zach Wilmoth and Darius Malbon each scored 13 points to lead Lees-McRae offensively. Avery Wallis pulled down a team-best five rebounds and Jonathan Honore contributed a game-high eight assists.

The Bobcats opened the contest on a 5-0 run before the Spartans scored six straight for a 6-5 lead after a Cuthbertson layup with 16:23 to play. Lees-McRae regained a five-point lead following a Wilmoth jumper and three-pointer to give the visitors a 13-8 lead at the 13:26 mark.

Upstate answered with a 10-4 run as Schulte gave it an 18-17 lead following a tip-in with 8:34 to play in the half. Malbon gave Lees-McRae a 26-24 lead following a three-pointer with 5:32 to play before the Spartans scored five straight for a 29-26 advantage with just over four minutes left in the half. Cuthbertson sank a jumper with 1:36 remaining to give Upstate a 33-28 advantage before a Wilmoth layup gave the Bobcats their final points of the half. The Spartans led 33-30 at the break.

Upstate opened the second half on a 13-3 run, taking its first double-digit lead of the game at 46-36 on a Holmes layup with 16:02 to go. A free throw by Malbon cut the Spartan lead to 46-38, but Upstate answered by going on a 6-0 run capped on a Holmes dunk for a 53-38 lead with 13:31 remaining.

Lees-McRae cut the Upstate advantage to 53-43 after a Wilmoth three-pointer and a Malbon layup before a 10-3 run by the Spartans pushed their lead out to 63-46. Moore gave the hosts a 75-55 lead after a three-pointer with 4:26 to play as Upstate led by no fewer than 20, and as many as 29, down the stretch. Lees-McRae scored five points over the final 5:33 of the contest.

The Spartans held a 56-33 edge in rebounds. Upstate finished the game shooting 30-for-58 (51.7%) from the field highlighted by a 78.3% (18-for-23) mark in the second half. Lees-McRae was 23-for-72 (31.9%) as a team. Upstate outscored the Bobcats 38-22 in the paint, 15-13 in points off turnovers and 22-17 in second chance points.

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