Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. – Deion Holmes and Malik Moore combined to score 57 points on Saturday afternoon as the USC Upstate men's basketball team held off the South Carolina State Bulldogs 88-84 in non-conference play from Eddie and Ann Payne Arena in the G.B. Hodge Center.

USC Upstate improves to 3-8 on the season while South Carolina State falls to 2-11 overall.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

• Holmes led all players offensively scoring a season-high 35 points on 12-of-22 shooting and made 5-of-12 behind the 3-point line while going 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
• Holmes also dished out a career-high five assists.
• Moore contributed his third straight game with at least 20 points after scoring 22 on 6-of-10 shooting, 3-of-4 from 3-point range and 7-for-8 at the charity stripe.
• Bryson Mozone came off the bench to finish with 10 points.
• Dalvin White, making his first collegiate start, set new career-highs with eight points and seven assists.
• Nevin Zink pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
• Damani Applewhite recorded a team-leading 27 points for the Bulldogs while Ozante Fields contributed a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds.
• The Spartans concluded the game shooting a season-high 52.6 percent (30-of-57) from the field and were 11-for-27 (40.7 percent) behind the 3-point line.
• USC Upstate held a 4-2 advantage in fast break points.
• The game featured four ties and two lead changes.

FIRST HALF BREAKDOWN

• The Spartans opened the game on a 10-2 run over the first 1:53 with Holmes and Moore combining for all 10 points from 3-point range.
• Moore connected on another 3-pointer at the 16:23 mark and put USC Upstate ahead 13-6.
• The Spartans would be held without a point for the nearly four minutes as South Carolina State cut its deficit to 13-10 with 13:37 remaining.
• Holmes put USC Upstate back in front by seven, 21-14, with 11:13 left on a 3-pointer.
• The Bulldogs scored the next five points and trailed 21-19 with 10:31 to go.
• The Spartans answered with the following five points to increase their lead to 26-19 at the 9:39 mark.
• White knocked down a jumper with 6:47 remaining and made the score 31-24 in favor of USC Upstate.
• South Carolina State got as close as one point, 31-30, with 5:05 left on a free throw.
• Holmes came back with a layup at the 3:33 mark and extended the Spartans lead back to 37-30.
• After the Bulldogs trimmed the lead down to three, USC Upstate closed out the half on a 5-0 run over the final 1:11.
• A tip-in basket by Brandon Martin with six seconds to go gave the Spartans a 42-34 lead at halftime.

SECOND HALF BREAKDOWN

• USC Upstate began the second half by taking its largest lead of the game at 10 points three times starting at 46-36 with 17:38 remaining on a layup by Moore.
• White kept the Spartans ahead by 10 points, 52-42, at the 15:28 mark following his jumper.
• South Carolina State then proceeded to go on a 16-6 run that lasted 4:15 and tied the score at 58-58.
• USC Upstate responded by taking a five-point lead twice with the last coming at 67-62 at the 8:34 mark on Zink's layup.
• Following a layup by the Bulldogs to even the score at 67-67, the Spartans posted a 12-3 run and took a nine-point lead, 79-70, with 3:59 remaining on a 3-pointer from Mozone.
• South Carolina State scored the next 10 points and held an 80-79 advantage with 1:53 to go.
• Holmes gave USC Upstate the lead for good on the following possession as his 3-pointer put it ahead 82-80.
• White then connected on a 3-pointer and increased the lead to 85-81 with 43 seconds left.
• The Spartans scored their final three points of the game at the free throw line.
• Holmes made two free throws with nine seconds remaining to make the final score 88-84.

UP NEXT

• USC Upstate remains at home on Wednesday, Dec. 19 hosting Truett-McConnell at 11 a.m.

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