ORANGEBURG, S.C. – A last second S.C. State three-point attempt fell short as time expired, USC Upstate began to celebrate their first road victory of the 2019-2020 season in a 73-70 win inside the S-H-M Memorial Center on Wednesday night.
 
"I'm so happy for our guys," USC Upstate head coach Dave Dickerson said. "This is the first time in a long time that we actually practiced well. We practiced well during finals and we practiced well after finals, it's good to see our practice payoff. We played a really good S.C. State team that plays a lot of upperclassmen…this was a total program and team win tonight. Guys stepped up and made plays and made shots when they needed to. I told the guys this was the most unselfish I have seen us play since I have been here."
 
USC Upstate got off to a quick start scoring the first four points of the match but then cooled off a bit as S.C. State scored the next seven points. Coming out of the first media timeout of the first half Jatayveous Watson (Newnan, Ga.) made a contested layup to pull the Spartans within two of the Bulldogs at 7-5. Over the next four minutes the Spartans went on an 8-4 run to take the lead back at 12-11. The two teams battled back-and-forth throughout the half but a Tommy Bruner (Columbia, S.C.) three-pointer with eight seconds left in the opening period gave USC Upstate a 30-28 edge heading into the break.
 
Free throws were the difference in the opening half of play as the Spartans attempted just four shots from the charity stripe converting two of them. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs attempted 12 shots from the free throw line and converted 10-of-12 in the opening period.
 
Everette Hammond (Silver Springs, Md.) led the Spartans offense with eight points in the opening half of play. Khydarius Smith (Fort Mill, S.C.) ended the half with a team high three rebounds. Damani Applewhite of S.C. State led all scorers with nine points in the opening period.  
 
The two teams went point-for-point in the opening nine minutes of the second half. A transition three-pointer and a pair of free throws gave S.C. State a 48-45 lead with 11:20 to play in the contest. S.C. State went on a 7-0 run to extend their lead, Bruner ended the run with a three-pointer at the top of the key with 8:10 remaining in the half. The shot sparked the Spartans offense as they scored five consecutive points and trailed 57-53 with 6:45 remaining in the half. The spark turned into a flame as the Spartans went on an 8-3 run, a Mozone 3-pointer gave the Spartans a 61-59 lead.
 
USC Upstate never looked back as the two teams battled down the stretch. Tommy Bruner gave the Spartan faithful a bit of a scare when he turned the ball over with 30 seconds in the game to give the Bulldogs a chance. Moments later Bruner redeemed himself by sealing the game with a pair free throws.  A last second three-pointer by S.C. State fell short as the Spartans claimed their first road win of the season.

Notes
Upstate- Tommy Bruner led all scorers with 19 points (ties career high), Bryson Mozone finished with 15 points and Everette Hammond and Nevin Zink each had 12 points in the contest. Mozone made 5-three point field goals for the second consecutive game.
 
S.C. State – Damani Applewhite led S.C. State with 16 points, Rayshawn Neal added 12 points, Tashombe Riley contributed 11 points and Ian Kinard recorded 10 points in the loss. The loss snaps a two game winning streak for S.C. State.
 
UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans will be back at home this Saturday, December 21 vs Bob Jones, 1:00 p.m. G.B. Hodge Center.

Keep UP with the Spartans
Facebook (UpstateAthletics)
Twitter (@UpstateMB)
Instagram (@upstatespartans)
YouTube (USCUpstateAthletics)