Jordan Gainey Defense Second Half vs. Western Carolina Second Half 2022
Ryan Frye
79
Winner USC Upstate USCU 4-4,0-0 Big South
64
Western Caro. WCU 4-5,0-0 SoCon
Winner
USC Upstate USCU
4-4,0-0 Big South
79
Final
64
Western Caro. WCU
4-5,0-0 SoCon
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
USC Upstate USCU 43 36 79
Western Caro. WCU 35 29 64

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Jordan Gainey's 21 Points Helps Men's Basketball Earn First Road Victory with Win at Western Carolina

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – On the road for the third time in four games and coming off a victory Wednesday at the G.B. Hodge Center, USC Upstate men's basketball earned back-to-back wins and its first road victory of the season with a 79-64 victory over Western Carolina Saturday evening.
 
Overcoming an early deficit, the Spartans fought back after seeing the Catamounts grow their lead to nine, answering with its longest scoring run to wrangle momentum and head into the half with a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Despite seeing Western Carolina fight back in the second half, Upstate withstood the comeback attempt and pushed the final margin to double-figures by hitting 12 free throws over the final four minutes of the game.
 
Leading the way for Upstate, sophomore guard Jordan Gainey scored 20-plus points for the second game in a row and the eighth time in his career with a game-high 21 points to pace a quartet of double-figure scorers. He was joined in double-figures by senior guard Nick Alves (12), senior forward Khydarius Smith (12), and freshman guard Justin Bailey (11).
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 79; Western Carolina 64
Records: USC Upstate (4-4); Western Carolina (4-5)
Location: Ramsey Center | Cullowhee, N.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half
  • After seeing Jordan Gainey open the game's scoring with a floater from inside the paint, Upstate and Western Carolina went back-and-forth with one another into the first media timeout as neither team could pull away.
  • Out of the first media stoppage, the Catamounts became the first to make consecutive field goals before Gainey snapped the momentum with a made field goal. The field goal was the only make from the field for the Spartans for just over four minutes of action as Western Carolina built its lead to nine forcing a timeout from head coach Dave Dickerson.
  • Following the timeout, the Spartans answered with their longest scoring run of the game, posting 10 straight points out of the timeout. Upstate crafted its run with five straight field goals from within the three-point line with Gainey and Nick Alves scoring four apiece and Justin Bailey adding the remaining two points.
  • With Western Carolina going up two with a three with 6:13 to play in the half, Upstate responded by closing the half by outscoring the Catamounts 19-9 to build a lead it wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the game. Helping to build the lead, the Spartans used an 8-0 run to push the lead towards double-digits.
 
Second Half
  • Coming out of the locker room, Western Carolina cut the Spartans' lead to four with back-to-back jumpers. Khydarius Smith snapped the Catamount run with a dunk to start a stretch of nearly six minutes without consecutive field goals for Western Carolina.
  • Between the lone two occurrences of back-to-back Western Carolina field goals in the second half, the Spartans used a 13-5 scoring run to open up their lead. The stretch was led by Ahmir Langlais and Nick Alves who scored seven and six points, respectively.
  • After the Catamounts knocked down consecutive jumpers, Upstate answered with consecutive jumpers of its own to keep the lead in double-digits and set up a defensive stretch that saw Western Carolina held without a field goal for nearly eight minutes.
  • Closing out the game with Western Carolina sending Upstate to the line, the Spartans knocked down 12-of-14 free throw attempts over the game's final four minutes to hold onto a 15-point advantage and the victory.
 
Notable
  • Scoring a game-high 21 points at Western Carolina, Jordan Gainey has scored 20 or more points in consecutive games, doing so for the second time in his career—he last accomplished the feat on Feb. 26-March 4, 2022, versus Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern. Saturday's game marked his eighth career game scoring 20-plus points.
  • With Justin Bailey's first-half three, Upstate extended its streak of games with a made three-pointer to at least 628 straight games (game-by-game statistics limited) dating back through the 2002-03 season. The Spartans have hit a three in each of the team's 481 games in the Division I era (2007-pres.).
  • Attempting just three three-pointers against the Catamounts, the total marked the fewest three-point attempts for the Spartans this season and during the Dave Dickerson era (2018-pres.) of Upstate basketball. The game marked the first game with single-digit three-point attempts since attempting seven threes versus Kennesaw State on Feb. 27, 2017.
 
UP Next for the Spartans
Following the team's first road victory of the season, USC Upstate heads into a week layoff as finals week begins. The Spartans return to action next Saturday at the G.B. Hodge Center against South Carolina State (3 p.m. ET).
 
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CHEER ON THE SPARTANS AT THE HODGE!
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