SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's basketball team steam rolled through Truett-McConnell in their home opener 103-62 on Friday night at the Eddie and Ann Payne arena inside the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
"One thing we talked about before the game was trying to get better," USC Upstate head coach Dave Dickerson said. "The only way we can get better is to play harder, play together, play smarter and we did that tonight."  
 
Sophomore guard Everette Hammond (Silver Springs, Md.) led the Spartan charge with a career high 27 points. Fellow sophomores Josh Aldrich (Wilmington, N.C.) and Bryson Mozone (North Augusta, S.C.) each contributed 11 points in the contest, while Brandon Martin (Miami, Fla.) and Cartier Jernigan (Charlotte, N.C.) added 10 points each. For Martin this is the third time in his career he has had back-to-back double digit performances.
 
"We've worked hard all summer long," Hammond said. "We went out there and executed our coach's game plan and came away with the win."  
 
Defensively USC Upstate (1-1) swarmed to the ball and caused 27 turnovers for Truett-McConnell (2-1). The Spartans stole the ball 19 times (fourth most in school history) against the Bears, with Jernigan leading the team with six swipes (tied for second most in school history). USC Upstate outrebounded Truett-McConnell 43-25 as Aldrich and Jernigan tied for the team lead with six rebounds.
 
Offensively the Spartans came out ready to go and seemed locked in. USC Upstate opened the game on a 30-2 run and never looked back as they went wire-to-wire for their first victory of the season. The Spartans connected on 41 field goal attempts, tying them for the fourth most in school history. The 103 points scored was the fifth highest total in school history as well.
 
USC Upstate shot 55 percent for the game, 33 percent from beyond the arch and 75 percent from the free throw stripe. The Spartans scored 45 points off turnovers and they bullied the Bears in the paint with 50 points inside. USC Upstate scored 20 second chance points, 40 fast break points and the bench scored 49 points on Friday night.
 
Truett-McConnell shot 45 percent from the field, 22 percent from three-point range and 69 percent from the free throw line. The Bears had a trio of players end the night in double-figures with Marlon Allen leading the way with 15 points in the match. Darius Thrower and Ange Badji each contributed 11 points in the loss to USC Upstate.
 
The Spartans begin a four-game road trip on November 11 at North Carolina Central, returning to the Hodge Center, Saturday, November 23 to face Youngstown State at 2:00 pm. Tickets for the contest start at $8.00 for adults or $5.00 for youth (ages 3-17). 
 
To purchase tickets, for Upstate Spartans basketball, shop online at upstatespartans.com or call, 864-503-7190.  Follow Upstate men's basketball on Facebook (UpstateAthletics), Twitter (@UpstateMB), Instagram (@upstatespartans) and YouTube (USCUpstateAthletics).