Miguel Ayesa Knocks Down Five Threes; Men's Basketball Hits 10 as It Battled Vanderbilt Friday Night

Friday, November 10

Nashville, Tenn.

7:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

0-2,0-0Big South

Vanderbilt

1-1,0-0SEC

Team	1	2	F
USC Upstate	31	36	67
Vanderbilt	27	47	74

Miguel Ayesa Post-Second Made Three vs. Vanderbilt 1st Half 2023

Photo by: Ryan Frye

11/11/2023 12:09:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On the road to close out a two-game Southeastern Conference road swing, USC Upstate men's basketball was within striking distance of knocking off a Power-Five foe as the Spartans led Vanderbilt at halftime and kept the Commodores' lead in the single digits before succumbing Friday evening at Memorial Gymnasium.

Shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 40.0 from three while forcing eight Commodore turnovers, the Spartans led 31-27 at half—leading a Power-Five team at the break for the second straight season. Upstate's defense continued to pester its opponent as the Spartans forced 15 turnovers overall, reaching the total in forced turnovers for the second straight game—while swiping eight steals Friday night.

Offensively, Upstate finished the night shooting 50.0 percent from three, knocking down 10 triples as the team reached double-figure made three-pointers for the first time since making 12 versus Charleston Southern on Feb. 8, 2023. Leading the Spartans and contributing to his team-high 17 points, graduate student guard Miguel Ayesa connected on five treys, becoming the first Spartan with five or more made threes in a game since Dec. 31, 2022, against Charleston Southern. Also scoring a team-high 17 points, redshirt junior guard Trae Broadnax knocked down all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Game Information
Score: Vanderbilt 74; USC Upstate 64
Records: USC Upstate (0-2; 0-0 Big South); Vanderbilt (1-1; 0-0 SEC)
Location: Memorial Gymnasium | Nashville, Tenn.

How It Happened
First Half

After seeing just one basket made by each side and a 2-2 game heading into the first media timeout, Upstate crafted its longest scoring run of the game to jump out to its first double-digit lead. In the 11-0 scoring stretch, five different Spartans scored—making it six Spartans to score in the game—with the biggest shot coming from Miguel Ayesa's first three.
Snapping the Spartans' run, Vanderbilt knocked down three consecutive free throws before Upstate hit three shots of its own from the charity stripe to answer. Pushing the team's lead to its largest of the game, Ayesa added his second triple, building a 12-point lead and sending the Commodores after a timeout.
Cutting the lead, Vanderbilt embarked on a 13-4 scoring stretch, climbing back to within three at 23-20 heading into the final three minutes of the half. Breaking up the run, Trae Broadnax and Ahmir Langlais connected on a jumper and layup, respectively.
Over the final two-and-a-half minutes of the half, Upstate stayed ahead of a surging Commodore team by hitting a pair of shots from beyond the arc with Broadnax and Floyd Rideau Jr. hitting the treys. With Vanderbilt pulling within two, Jorge Ochoa hit a layup with 12 seconds remaining to give Upstate the four-point halftime lead.

Second Half

Coming out of the locker room, Upstate and Vanderbilt traded the lead back and forth over the first nine minutes of the half. The Spartans and Commodores saw the lead change nine times in the stretch, culminating with Vanderbilt leading 43-42 with 11:07 remaining in the game.
Staking the lead for the first time, the Commodores fashioned their longest scoring run of the game—nine points—to push their lead to eight points. Vanderbilt grew its lead to double-digits for the first time with 5:38 to play as Tasos Kamateros hit three three-pointers in consecutive possessions for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt grew its lead to 12 points—the largest of the night for the hosts—as Kameteros knocked down another three to create a five-point scoring run following a pair of made Vanderbilt free throws. Keeping Upstate within striking distance before the run, the Spartans knocked down four field goals, including three field goals from long range.
Closing the game, the Spartans and Commodores spent the final half minute of the night trading free throws except for one shot. Breaking up the back-and-forth trips to the charity stripe, Ayesa rose up and hit from deep, his fifth three of the night with 11 seconds to play.

Notable

Shooting 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from three against the Commodores, Upstate posted its best single-game three-point field goal percentage since shooting 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from deep versus Presbyterian on Jan. 18, 2023. Leading the Spartans with five made three-pointers, Miguel Ayesa is the first Spartan since Jordan Gainey versus Charleston Southern on Dec. 31, 2022, to hit five or more threes in a game.
Adding eight steals to their season total—coming off 11 steals versus South Carolina Monday—the Spartans have swiped 19 steals through two games. The total marks the most in a two-game stretch since collecting 21 steals against Presbyterian and UNC Asheville on Jan. 18 and Jan. 21, 2023, respectively.
With Ayesa's first made three-pointer of the night, Upstate improved its streak of games with at least one made three-pointer to 874 games, a streak that dates back to the 1994-95 season. The streak includes each of the program's 507 games at the Division I level (2007-pres.).
The game's seven-point scoring margin, the margin of defeat tied for the second-lowest margin of defeat for the Spartans against a Power-Five opponent. The margin is the smallest against a Power-Five opponent since a seven-point margin of defeat versus Auburn on Nov. 29, 2016.

Up Next for the Spartans
Following the two-game road trip and beginning the second week of the 2023-24 season, USC Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center for the first time Sunday. The Spartans' home opener against Carolina features a 4 p.m. ET tip-off.

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