SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Returning to the friendly confines of the G.B. Hodge Center following the team's three-game road swing ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, USC Upstate men's basketball shook off some post-holiday rust with its third-largest scoring half over the game's final 20 minutes to earn a 35-point, 79-44 victory over Voorhees Saturday.
 
Seeing 11 Spartans score in the contest, three players recorded double-figures for Upstate as freshman guard Eduardo Placer paced all scorers with a career and game-high 16 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor, including making both of his attempts from distance. Joining Placer in double-figures, redshirt junior guard Trae Broadnax and redshirt senior forward Ahmir Langlais chipped in 12 markers apiece. At the same time, Langlais corralled a career-best 12 rebounds, earning his second career double-double.
 
Adding to the career-highs achieved on the afternoon, junior forward Patrick Iriel and sophomore forward joined Placer and Langlais with career highs, scoring a career-high seven points and pulling in a career-best five rebounds, and grabbing a career-high eight rebounds, respectively.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 79; Voorhees 44
Records: USC Upstate (3-4; 0-0 Big South); Voorhees (3-6; 0-0 CAC)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Taking the opening tap, Upstate found itself on the board first as Miguel Ayesa turned a steal into a fastbreak layup from Trae Broadnax to open the game's scoring. Following the layup, the two sides traded buckets into and coming out of the under-16 media timeout, seeing the game tied at eight before the game's first scoring run.
• Doubling up on the Tigers, the Spartans crafted the first scoring run of the half, breaking the eight-all deadlock with eight straight points. Justin Bailey and Eduardo Placer bookended a pair of Ahmir Langlais layups to fashion the run and give Upstate six scorers heading to the under-12 media.
• Countering the Spartans' scoring stretch, Voorhees cut the lead back to four at 20-16 by outscoring Upstate eight to four between the two stoppages. Braodnax and Placer made a pair of field goals to keep the Spartans ahead of the Tigers, providing the four-point advantage.
• Again using a long scoring run to double-up on its opponent, Upstate put together a 12-point scoring run to stretch the lead to 16 at 32 to 16. However, Voorhees answered with its longest scoring run of the opening half, scoring the final nine points of the first period to trim the Spartan advantage to seven.

 
Second Half

• Following up on the team's 9-0 scoring stretch to close the first half, the Tigers finished their longest scoring run of the afternoon with the first four points of the second half. After seeing the lead cut to three—the smallest lead the Spartans held for the remainder of the game—with 18:37 to play, Upstate scored the next five points as the lead grew.
• Trading buckets after the Spartans' 5-0 run, Voorhees pulled the lead within six before Upstate began another long scoring stretch to stretch the lead to double-digits for good. The Spartans pushed the lead to double-figures with a 6-0 scoring run before seeing the Tigers score three points to snap the run.
• Going back and forth heading into the under-eight media timeout, Upstate answered out of the stoppage with the team's longest scoring run of the game, stringing together 15 straight points. The Tigers snapped the run with the team's final field goal with 3:25 to play.
• Holding Voorhees to two points over the final three minutes of the game, Upstate built its lead to 30-plus points as it scored 13 of the final 15 markers of the game. Closing the game, the Spartans scored the final 11 points, including a pair of dunks from Patrick Iriel.

 
Notable

• With 12 points and 12 rebounds Saturday afternoon, Ahmir Langlais recorded the second double-double of his career. The double-double is the first by a Spartan since Langlais' first double-double (18 points and 11 rebounds) versus Coastal Carolina on Nov. 18, 2022.
• Leading the Spartans with 16 points against Voorhees, Eduardo Placer extended the program's streak of seasons with a true freshman scoring 15 or more points in a game at least once in three consecutive seasons. He's the fourth true freshman to score 15 or more points in a game at least once over the past three seasons, joining Justin Bailey (2022-23), Jalen Breazeale (2021-22), and Jordan Gainey (2021-22).
• Behind eight made three-pointers Saturday, Upstate extended its streak of games with at least one made three-pointer to 879 games, a streak dating back to the 1994-95 season. The streak includes each of the 512 games played by the program at the NCAA Division I level (2007-pres.).

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Following the Spartans' second home game of the season, Upstate returns to the road by staying in the Palmetto State for a meeting with Coastal Carolina. The Spartans and Chanticleers meet for the second consecutive season with the season's meeting coming Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.
 
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