SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Befitting of the games played deep in the conference calendar that the two programs put forth when the two met as ASUN foes, USC Upstate men's basketball and Kennesaw State went blow for blow Saturday in a contest that felt as if it were played in March. However, the game comes as the Spartans' non-conference slate heads towards a close and saw 17 lead changes and 11 ties as the Owls pulled away in the final minutes to claim an 84-77 victory.
 
Adding to the 17 lead changes and 11 ties, neither team was able to build too large a lead as the advantage swung no further than seven points in either direction with the time spent with the lead nearly identical at the conclusion of the game. Kennesaw State regained the with 7:18 to play, but Upstate remained steadfast, keeping the deficit within a possession for much of the final seven minutes of the game before the Owls grew their lead in the final seconds.
 
Leading the Spartans, sophomore guard Justin Bailey poured in a career-high 21 points, shooting 4-of-9 from the field and going 11-of-12 from the free throw line. Three other Spartans joined Bailey in double-figures as graduate student guard Miguel Ayesa, sophomore guard Jalen Breazeale, and redshirt senior forward Ahmir Langlais added 15, 10, and 10 points, respectively. Langlais supplemented his 10 points with a career-best 13 rebounds, securing his third career double-double.
 
Game Information
Score: Kennesaw State 84; USC Upstate 77
Records: USC Upstate (4-6; 0-0 Big South); Kennesaw State (7-3; 0-0 ASUN)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• The first three points of the game were scored from the charity stripe as Justin Bailey knocked down all three attempts after being fouled on an attempt from the top of the arc. Kennesaw State countered with a free throw of its own before Trae Broadnax and Ahmir Langlais knocked down field goals to give Upstate a 7-1 advantage.
• Fighting back to take the lead for the first time, the Owls answered the Spartans' 7-1 scoring run by outscoring Upstate 12-5 over the next four minutes of play. Bailey and Alves hit a three and a layup for the Spartans' lone points in the stretch.
• Upstate regained the lead with four consecutive free throws coming off the 12-5 scoring stretch before Kennesaw State knotted the game up with a three with 11:30 remaining in the half. Following the tie, the Spartans scored 10 of the next 15 points as five players found the scoring column, staking a five-point lead with seven minutes to play.
• Seeing Upstate's lead built back to five points, Kennesaw State fashioned a 9-2 scoring run to retake the lead with four and a half minutes remaining in the half. The Spartans battled back to regain the lead for the final time with three minutes to play before the Owls outscored Upstate 8-3 to close the half and take a four-point lead into the locker room.

 
Second Half

• Crafting its largest scoring run of the game, scoring the first seven points of the second half to retake the lead with Bailey scoring five of the seven points in the run. Kennesaw State responded with a 7-3 scoring stretch as the lead traded hands again out of the under-16 media timeout.
• Upstate jumped ahead as Jalen Breazeale hit a driving layup before Alves jumped on the floor for a loose ball, calling a timeout to create the floating media stoppage. Out of the break, the Owls used their largest scoring run of the game to build a six-point lead.
• The Spartans countered with an 11-4 scoring stretch to push the lead back in their favor with Bailey and Langlais scoring six and five points, respectively, in the stretch. A steal and dunk from Alves following a pair of Owl free throws gave Upstate its final lead of the night, coming with 9:18 remaining.
• Following a two-minute scoring drought, Kennesaw State lifted the lid on the basket with six consecutive points, taking the lead for the final time. Upstate battled back, pulling to within one with 1:55 remaining in the game, but the Owls pulled away in the final 30 seconds following a 40-foot three from Simeon Cottle.

Postgame Interviews
Head Coach Dave Dickerson...  
Notable

• Leading the Spartans with 21 points, Justin Bailey turned in his first career 20-plus point scoring effort, dropping a new career-high scoring total for the second time this season. He scored 11 of his 21 points from the free throw line, becoming the first Spartan since Mysta Goodloe against South Carolina State on Dec. 10, 2022, to post 10-plus makes from the charity stripe.
• Knocking down five three-pointers, Miguel Ayesa became the first Spartan in three seasons to hit five or more threes in a game on multiple occasions in the same season. The last Spartan with multiple games hitting five or more three-pointers came during the 2020-21 season as Dalvin Cook posted two such games.
• Hitting eight threes against Kennesaw State, Upstate improved its streak of consecutive games making at least one three-pointer to 882 games. The streak includes each of the Spartans' 515 games at the NCAA Division I level (2007-pres.).
• Forcing 15 turnovers Saturday, the Spartans have forced 10 or more turnovers in all 10 games this season, forcing 15 or more turnovers for the seventh time this season—Saturday's game marked the fourth consecutive game with 15 or more forced turnovers. The streak is the longest for the Spartans to begin a season since forcing double-digit turnovers in each of the first 19 games of the 2021-22 season.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
After a week break, USC Upstate returns to the court for the final game of the team's two-game non-conference homestand in the penultimate non-conference game for the team this season. The Spartans host Western Carolina on Dec. 16 with tip-off for the team's final non-conference home game set for 4:30 p.m. ET.

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