Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. – Michael Buchanan posted a double-double with a game-high 24 points and career-best 13 rebounds as the USC Upstate men's basketball team dropped a 77-68 decision to the Jacksonville Dolphins Saturday afternoon inside the Hodge Center.

Upstate falls to 7-15 on the season and 1-4 in league play, while Jacksonville improves to 11-11 overall and 3-2 in the A-Sun.

Buchanan posted his second straight game with at least 20 points and surpassed his old career-high rebounding effort of 12 which he compiled two different times during his career. He finished the game 11-of-16 from the field. Josh Cuthbertson tied his career-high of 20 points set earlier this season against Winthrop on 6-of-11 shooting and 6-of-7 at the free throw line. Cuthbertson also dished out five assists for the second straight game.

J.R. Holder led four Dolphins in double-figures with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Marcel White added 17 points, Kori Babineaux 16 and Josh Adeyeye 14. Adeyeye pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and Babineaux contributed seven assists.

White got JU on the board with a three-pointer 40 seconds into the game. Following a pair of Adeyeye free throws to give the visitors a 7-4 lead at the 17:38 mark, the Spartans took the lead on back-to-back layups by Buchanan. A Philip Whittington layup tied the contest at 16-16 before Jacksonville went on a 5-0 run for a 21-16 lead with 12:13 remaining.

Cuthbertson hit a three-pointer to cut the Upstate deficit to 21-19 before the Dolphins used a 6-0 run capped by a Babineaux layup to take a 27-19 lead. The Spartans answered with an 8-2 run of their own to pull within two, 29-27, with 5:21 to go in the half but did not record a basket the rest of the period as JU took a 36-27 lead at halftime.

Adeyeye opened the second half with a three-pointer to give Jacksonville a 39-27 lead before Tristan Thomas sank a three to bring the hosts within seven at 39-32. Following a Cuthbertson layup to trim the Spartans deficit to 47-38 with 14:25 to play, the Dolphins went on a 7-2 run for a 54-40 advantage with just under 12 minutes to go.

Babineaux's layup at the 10:27 mark gave Jacksonville a game-high 16-point lead, 59-43. Upstate would not go away as Cuthbertson completed a three-point play to put the score at 72-66 with just over a minute to play. The Dolphins scored the next five points to go up 77-66, and Cuthbertson's last second layup made the final score 77-68.

The Spartans finished the game shooting 45.6% (26-of-57) while Jacksonville posted a 44.3% (27-of-61) shooting mark. Upstate outscored the Dolphins 40-20 in the paint and 12-7 in points from the bench.

The Spartans host Kennesaw State on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.

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