JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – On the road for the third time in four games to open the 2021-22 season, USC Upstate men's basketball found itself locked into a defensive battle as its second-half comeback attempt fell short Thursday night at East Tennessee State as the Spartans fell 56-43.
 
For the fourth consecutive game, senior forward Bryson Mozone represented Upstate's leading scorer, pouring in nine points—all in the second half—in the game. Despite not seeing a scorer in double-figures, it was a balanced attack offensively as six Spartans contributed five or more points Thursday.
 
Defensively, Upstate forced 17 ETSU turnovers and have forced 17-plus turnovers in each of the past two games. Of their 17 forced turnovers, eight came via steal for the Spartans as junior guard Nick Alves swiped a season-high three against the Buccaneers.
 
Game Information
Score: ETSU 56, USC Upstate 43
Records: USC Upstate (1-3; 0-0 Big South); ETSU (1-2; 0-0 SoCon)
Location: Freedom Hall | Johnson City, Tenn.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• After seeing the score seesaw back-and-forth over the game's first three-and-a-half minutes, Dalvin White sparked the largest run of the first 10 minutes of the game as he nailed jumpers on back-to-back offensive possessions. His second jumper—a second-chance runner in the lane—came off a forced turnover and an offensive board from Jordon Gainey.
• Following an ETSU basket at the 11:41 mark that pushed the Buccaneer lead to three, Upstate used its longest run of the first half to regain the lead. Coming from the backside to block a David Sloan layup, Khydarius Smith created a fastbreak opportunity for Gainey to finish on the other end. Making his presence felt on both ends of the floor and of the 7-0 run, Smith ran the floor and emphatically slammed home a Mysta Goodloe pass on an alley-oop to bookend the run.
• After being held scoreless for over six minutes, ETSU fashioned a long run of its own over the final five-and-a-half minutes of the first half, scoring eight unanswered points to take a four-point cushion into the locker room.

Second Half

• As Upstate trimmed the lead with a Gainey three-ball to open the second-half scoring, ETSU answered with a 10-0 run to grow its lead to double-digits for the first time in the game.
• Seeing the Buccaneer lead grow to 15-points, the Spartans used a 6-0 run to trim the lead to five as perfect trips to the free throw line from Josh Aldrich and Nick Alves sandwiched a Bryson Mozone jumper. During the run, Upstate held ETSU scoreless for four-plus minutes.
• With its second-half advantage shrunk to single digits, ETSU used the largest scoring run of the game to grow its advantage to a game-high 18 points, reeling off a 13-0 run.
• Holding the Buccaneers scoreless for the final two minutes of the contest, Upstate closed the game on a 5-0 run, punctuated by an Alves run-out slam in the game's final seconds.

 
Notable

• Scoring nine points Thursday night, senior forward Bryson Mozone paced the Spartan offense in scoring for the fourth consecutive game to open the season. His streak of four games as his team's leading scorer is the longest for a Spartan since Deion Holmes led Upstate in scoring in six straight games during the 2015-16 season.
• Finishing just shy of Mozone's team-high point total, junior forward Khydarius Smith added eight points for the Spartans at ETSU. His points total Thursday night gives Smith three straight games scoring eight or more points as he's shot 60 percent (9-of-15) from the floor in the stretch.

 
UP Next for the Spartans
Following Thursday night's contest, Upstate continues its short two-game road swing next Tuesday at South Carolina State. The Spartans and Bulldogs tangle in Orangeburg, S.C. on November 23 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
 
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