KENNESAW, Ga. – On the road for the final time in non-conference action, USC Upstate men's basketball fought valiantly as it completed its final preparations for the Big South schedule with a 65-56 setback Tuesday night at Kennesaw State.
In the renewal of a series pitting two former ASUN foes, three Spartans finished in double-figures led by sophomore guard
Jordan Gainey who paced all scorers with 19 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-4 from three. He complemented his game-high scoring total by tying his career-high with seven rebounds, another tally that led the Spartans.
Joining Gainey with 10 or more points were redshirt sophomore guard
Trae Broadnax and senior forward
Nick Alves who added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Leading the Spartans on the defensive end, Broadnax swiped a career-high six steals—the most in a game by an Upstate player this season.
Game Information
Score: Kennesaw State 65; USC Upstate 56
Records: USC Upstate (5-6); Kennesaw State (8-4)
Location: KSU Convocation Center | Kennesaw, Ga.
How It Happened
First Half
- Opening the game with a fastbreak layup off the first of his six steals, Trae Broadnax started a sequence that saw both teams trade baskets into the first media stoppage. Ahead of the game's first media, Khydarius Smith followed Broadnax with four straight Upstate points.
- Out of the media timeout, Kennesaw State put together its first extended scoring stretch of the first half, going on a 5-0 run to open up its lead. Stopping the Owls' momentum was Jordan Gainey who knocked down the first of his team-high three triples with the two sides trading threes as the margin remained at five heading to the 10-minute mark of the half.
- Upstate began working its way back as the team fashioned a 6-2 scoring stretch to cut the deficit to one heading into the under-8 media timeout. Kennesaw State, however, answered with its largest scoring run of the first half—a 7-0 run—to lengthen the lead further.
- Seeing the final media of the half fall with 3:37 on the clock, the Spartans hung their hat on their defense to end the half on a 6-0 run. Over the final three and a half minutes of the half, the Spartans forced three turnovers and held the Owls to 0-of-3 from the field.
Second Half
- Starting the second half with the first basket, a layup from Nick Alves, Upstate forced the first tie in the game since the early minutes of the first half. With the teams trading baskets, the game would remain deadlocked until Gainey hit a three with 15:19 to play to give Upstate its first lead since the opening minutes of the game.
- Following an answer from Kennesaw State that gained the lead back momentarily for the Owls, Gainey and Broadnax went to work, knifing their way to the basket to craft a 6-0 scoring spurt to take a five-point advantage—the largest of the game for the Spartans.
- With the Owls clawing away at the lead, Alves contributed the next two baskets for the Spartans, including a dunk in transition to maintain the Upstate lead. Out of the under-eight timeout, Broadnax drained a pair of free throws to tie the game at 46, forcing the last tie in the ballgame.
- Swinging the momentum with back-to-back dunks from Demond Robinson, Kennesaw State remained just a step ahead of the Spartans over the final seven-plus minutes of the game. The Owls answered each shot from the Spartans, including a pair of threes that lengthened the lead further.
Notable
- With his 19 points to lead all scorers against Kennesaw State, Jordan Gainey notched his sixth game of the season scoring 15 or more points and the 23rd such game of his career. He has scored in double-figures in nine of 11 games this season and in 34 of 43 games in his career.
- Swiping six steals versus the Owls, Trae Broadnax joined Gainey as the lone Spartans with five or more thefts in a game this season. Broadnax's total also marks a team-high this season and is the most steals in a game since Cartier Jernigan tallied six steals versus Truett-McConnell on Nov. 8, 2019.
- With Gainey's first made three of the night, Upstate extended its streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to at least 631 games, dating back through the 2002-03 season. The streak also includes all 484 games for the program at the Division I level (2007-pres.).
UP Next for the Spartans
With non-conference play concluded, the Spartans' attention now turns to the Big South portion of the team's schedule. Upstate opens league play on Dec. 29 as it hosts Winthrop at the G.B. Hodge Center with tip-off set for 5 p.m. ET.
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