SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Coming off two tough road contests and back at the G.B. Hodge Center for the start of the Collegiate Hoops Roadshow, USC Upstate men's basketball fed off the energy of its home crowd as it won a single-possession game thanks to a game-winning jumper from redshirt sophomore Trae Broadnax with 10 seconds remaining to deliver a 79-78 win over Coastal Carolina.
 
Seeing the Chanticleers' lead grow to as many as seven points over the final 10-plus minutes of the game, the Spartans remained resilient and chipped away at the deficit, hitting big shots on its final two possessions and locking down defensively to secure victory. Trailing by two with 50 seconds remaining, Upstate opted for a timeout with redshirt sophomore guard Floyd Rideau Jr. knocking down a three from the left corner to deliver the lead before Broadnax answered Coastal's answer—a floater from Jomaru Brown—for the home win.
 
Supplementing the Spartans' timely and clutch shooting, redshirt junior forward Ahmir Langlais put forth a career night as he secured his first career double-double behind a career-best 18 points—including 10 in the second half—and career-high 11 rebounds—with six boards coming off the offensive glass. He led a quintet of double-figure scorers for Upstate on the night.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 79; Coastal Carolina 78
Records: USC Upstate (2-2); Coastal Carolina (2-1)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Foreshadowing the prize fight that would lie before both Upstate and Coastal as the night progressed, the Spartans and Chanticleers went shot-for-shot with one another for the first five-or-so minutes of the game with neither team constructing a scoring run until the 14:43 mark of the first half.
• Following a Trae Broadnax triple to put Upstate up 12-11 out of the game's first media timeout, Floyd Rideau Jr. knocked down the first of his three treys and the second of seven first-half threes for the Spartans, creating a 6-0 scoring run.
• With Coastal pulling ahead 18-17 just before the under-12 media stoppage, Upstate responded in a huge way following the timeout, putting the finishing touches on a 10-0 scoring stretch to regain the lead—something it wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the half. Khydarius Smith hit a layup ahead of the stoppage with Justin Bailey hitting a three and Jordan Gainey a pull-up jumper and three to close the run.
• Growing the lead to double-digits for the first time on the night, the Spartans used a pair of made free throws sandwiched between the team's sixth and seventh threes of the half to push the lead to 10 with 1:15 remaining in the half. Stopping Coastal's momentum heading into the locker room, Nick Alves drove the baseline and flipped the ball towards the basket as he careened towards the free throw line to beat the halftime buzzer and put the Upstate lead at eight.

 
Second Half

• Out of the half, Upstate lengthened its advantage to 12—the largest lead for either side in the game—as Ahmir Langlais and Smith hit a pair of layups to open the half with a 4-0 scoring run. The scoring stretch overall extended to 6-0 following Alves's first-half buzzer-beater.
• Fighting back to tie the game at 51 with 11:57 remaining in regulation and to force an Upstate timeout, Coastal Carolina outscored Upstate 15-4 following Upstate's back-to-back makes to open the half. The presence of Essam Mostafa inside the paint spurred the Chanticleer run as he notched eight of the 15 points.
• Staying just ahead of the Spartans between the under-12 and under-four media timeouts, Coastal grew its advantage to as many as seven points—doing so three times—between the two stoppages. Momentum remained in the Chanticleers' hands until a Jomaru Brown technical with 1:38 to play swung momentum to Upstate.
• After Gainey knocked down both of the technical free throws, Trae Broadnax turned a steal into a fastbreak layup that put Upstate's deficit at two with 1:12 to play. Following back-to-back 30-second timeouts from both sides, Rideau Jr. hit his third three of the game to put the Spartans ahead. Answering a Jomaru Brown jumper with one of his own, Broadnax delivered the victory as his shot fell with 10 seconds remaining with Upstate securing things by forcing an arrant shot from Brown at the buzzer.

 
Notable

• Trae Broadnax's jumper with 10.7 remaining in regulation gave Upstate its first victory when going ahead in the final 10 seconds of the game since Bryson Mozone knocked down a jumper with 3.6 seconds to play against UNC Asheville on January 15, 2022. Friday's game also marks the first such win at home since Dalvin White beat the final buzzer versus High Point on January 12, 2022.
• With his first career double-double, Ahmir Langlais notched the first Spartan double-double since February 19, 2022, when Mozone posted one against Charleston Southern. Langlais also became the first Upstate player with double-digit rebounds since Mozone's double-double.
• Passing out a career-high eight assists against Coastal Carolina, Trae Broadnax is the first Spartan with eight or more assists in a game since Dalvin White passed out nine helpers versus UNC Asheville on January 15, 2022.

 
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