CLINTON, S.C. – On the road for the first time in Big South Conference play, USC Upstate men's basketball ended its short trip to Clinton, S.C. with its first conference victory of the 2021-22 season, defeating Presbyterian 82-72 Saturday afternoon.
 
Four Spartans finished the afternoon in double-figures, headlined by a career-high 20 points from freshman guard Jordan Gainey. Saturday's game marked the second consecutive for Gainey with a career-high scoring total, opening his first week of league play with 16 and 20 points, respectively, against Radford and Presbyterian.
 
Seniors, forward Bryson Mozone, and guard Dalvin White finished with 16 points apiece while sophomore guard Quentin Hodge chipped in 11 points. For Mozone, it's his fourth straight contest with 15 or more points—the longest stretch of his career—while White posted a season-high scoring mark for the second straight game. Hodge's 11 points give him back-to-back double-figure scoring games for the first time in his career.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 82; Presbyterian 72
Records: USC Upstate (4-10; 0-1 Big South); Presbyterian (8-9; 0-1 Big South)
Location: Templeton Center | Clinton, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• After Presbyterian began the scoring, Upstate got back-to-back mid-range jumpers from Jordan Gainey and Bryson Mozone to stake an early lead. The Blue Hose, however, countered with a 7-0 scoring run into the under-16 media timeout.
• Out of the media timeout, Gainey drove to the hoop, laying in a shot to break the Presbyterian scoring run. Nick Alves ran the baseline throwing down a tomahawk dunk, drawing the foul, and converting the ensuing three-point play for a 5-0 Spartan run.
• After being tied at 9 all, Upstate answered a pair of Presbyterian buckets with makes in transition, the first a dunk from Nick Alves, the second a three from Mozone to set up a Spartan scoring stretch. Mozone would push the run to 5-0, tacking on a pair of free throws.
• Presbyterian countered with their own 5-0 run to regain the lead at 19-16 before Upstate embarked on its longest scoring stretch of the half. Cartier Jernigan started the 7-0 run with a driving layup with Quentin Hodge adding the final five points behind a corner three and a 2-for-2 trip to the foul line.
• Seeing the Blue Hose pull within two at 23-21, Upstate used a 14-4 scoring run to pull its lead to double digits for the first time in the game. The 14-4 run featured three separate scoring runs for the Spartans consisting of 5-0, 4-0, and 5-0 stretches.
• Following Presbyterian's final field goal with 2:07 to play in the half, Upstate outscored the Blue Hose 6-4 over the half's final two minutes to extend its halftime lead to 14—the Spartans' largest advantage of the first half. In extending its lead, the Spartans held Presbyterian without a field goal for the final two minutes of the half.

Second Half

• Coming out of the half, Upstate scored the first four points of the half to extend its lead to 18 points as Alves converted two free throws and Dalvin White knocked down a pull-up two. Spanning the half, the Spartans' scoring run reached 7-0.
• Cutting the Spartan lead back to single digits, Presbyterian used its largest scoring run of the game, 9-0, to trim the game to 51-42 Upstate. The Spartans answered quickly, hitting two threes and adding a free throw to fabricate a 7-0 scoring run to put the Spartans back up by double digits.
• Over a nearly four-minute span, Presbyterian worked the Upstate lead down to nine as the Blue Hose used a 9-2 scoring run, spurred by a 6-0 run at the conclusion of the stretch. Presbyterian held Upstate 0-4 from the field during the 9-2 run while forcing two turnovers.
• Snapping the Presbyterian run, Upstate used its largest scoring run of the game to extend its lead back to double digits, scoring 10 consecutive points. Khydarius Smith started the run with a dunk while Gainey knocked down two threes and Mozone knocked down two free throws to push the Spartan advantage to 19.
• Holding the Blue Hose without a field goal for over six minutes, Upstate grew its lead to its largest total of the game, reaching a 20-point advantage at 77-57, reaching the figure with a 5-0 run—the Spartans' largest during the latter half of the second half.
• Attempting a late comeback, Presbyterian outscored Upstate 15-5 over the game's final four minutes however, a Mozone jumper and free throw makes from Alves and Gainey helped keep the Spartan advantage in double-figures.

Notable

• Dropping 20 points Saturday at Presbyterian, Jordan Gainey notched Upstate's second 20-plus point scoring game of the season. His game joins Bryson Mozone's 20-point effort at South Carolina to open the season as the team's lone 20-plus point games this season.
• Gainey's 20 points Saturday gives him a career-high scoring total for the second consecutive game, besting his 16 points against Radford on Thursday. A season-high 16 points from Dalvin White also gives White a season-high scoring total for the second straight game after scoring 14 points versus Radford.
• Adding 16 points Saturday, Bryson Mozone tallied 15 or more points for the fourth consecutive game. The streak marks the longest of his career, besting his season-opening three-game streak to begin the 2021-22 season.
• Knocking down 11 three-point attempts at Presbyterian, Upstate has netted double-digit shots from beyond the arc in three consecutive games. The streak marks the longest for the team since doing so in three straight games from Dec. 5-13, 2020.

 
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