Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. – Malik Moore, Deion Holmes and Everette Hammond each scored in double-figures on Thursday evening as the USC Upstate men's basketball team fell 79-72 to the Radford Highlanders from Eddie and Ann Payne Arena in the G.B. Hodge Center.

USC Upstate falls to 5-12 on the season and 0-2 in Big South play while Radford improves to 10-6 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

• Moore and Holmes both led the Spartans offensively with 13 points apiece.
• Moore added a team-high six rebounds while Holmes went 5-for-5 at the free throw line.
• Hammond came off the bench to score 10 points after shooting 3-for-5 overall and 2-for-4 behind the 3-point line.
• Brandon Martin went 4-for-4 from the field and finished with eight points.
• Dalvin White connected on three 3-pointers and concluded the game with nine points.
• Moore, White and Jure Span each dished out three assists.
• Moore grabbed a team-leading three steals.
• Carlik Jones and Ed Polite Jr. each had 16 points to lead the Highlanders offensively.
• Travis Fields Jr. contributed 15 points and Donald Hicks 13.
• Polite Jr. led all players with seven rebounds.
• USC Upstate finished the game shooting 50.0 percent (26-of-52) from the field and made 10 3-pointers.
• The Spartans held a 34-10 advantage in bench points.
• The game featured eight ties and eight lead changes.

FIRST HALF BREAKDOWN

• The teams traded the opening eight points before Span connected on a 3-pointer to give USC Upstate a 7-4 lead at the 17:55 mark.
• Radford answered with an 11-4 run over the next 3:05 and led 15-11 with 14:50 left.
• After Mawdo Sallah kept the Highlanders ahead by four, the Spartans came back with eight straight points and took a 21-17 lead with 12:19 to go on a 3-pointer by Bryson Mozone.
• Pat Welch gave USC Upstate a 27-20 advantage at the 10:16 mark with his 3-pointer.
• Martin's tip-in basket with 7:47 left maintained the Spartans seven-point lead at 29-22.
• Moore's steal and dunk with 5:03 to go put USC Upstate back in front 31-24.
• The Highlanders outscored the Spartans 9-2 over the final 3:34.
• Polite Jr.'s 3-point play with 1:09 left tied the score at 33-33 heading into halftime.

SECOND HALF BREAKDOWN

• Radford opened the second half scoring five straight points and held a 38-33 lead less than two minutes into the half.
• USC Upstate came back by scoring seven of the next nine points to even the score at 40-40 with 16:48 left on a 3-pointer from Josh Aldrich.
• Following the Highlanders taking a five-point lead, the Spartans tied the score again at 49-49 with 12:28 to go when Mozone made 1-of-2 free throws.
• The score would be tied twice over the next 2:04 with the last coming at 53-53 at the 10:24 mark on a layup from Span.
• Radford broke the game open courtesy of a 14-3 run that lasted 4:14 and held a 67-56 lead with 6:09 remaining.
• The Highlanders held their largest lead of 15 points, 73-58, with 3:29 left.
• USC Upstate made a late charge over the next three minutes as White and Hammond combined for four 3-pointers to trim its deficit down to six points.
• Hammond connected on back-to-back triples with his last making the score 76-70 with 59 seconds remaining in the game.
• Jones scored Radford's final three points at the free throw line to put the final score at 79-72.

UP NEXT

• The Spartans travel to Gardner-Webb on Saturday evening for a 5 p.m. tipoff against the Runnin' Bulldogs.

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