SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With the culmination of the regular season, Senior Day, and Homecoming all converging for USC Upstate men's basketball with a regional rival coming into the Hodge and seeding for the Big South Men's Basketball Championship on the line, the Spartans walked away from its final regular season game with a win over Gardner-Webb, 75-69, for the second straight regular-season finale.
 
Whereas last season Upstate did not lead until the final minute-and-a-half of its season-ending win over the Runnin' Bulldogs, the Spartans wasted little time taking the lead this season, leading for nearly 38 minutes in their win Saturday. The win served as a fitting sendoff for the Spartans' five seniors and a notable welcome back to many former Spartans in attendance as Upstate improved to 11-2 on the season at the Hodge, the most home wins for the program since 2014-15.
 
Seeing four players score in double-figures for the first time in two games and for the eighth time this season, Upstate improved to 11-1 when seeing four or more double-figure scorers. A trio of Spartans led the way with 16 points apiece, redshirt sophomore guard Trae Broadnax, sophomore guard Jordan Gainey, and senior forward Khydarius Smith, with Smith's total tying his career-high in the final home game of his career.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 75; Gardner-Webb 69
Records: USC Upstate (15-14; 10-8 Big South); Gardner-Webb (15-15; 10-8 Big South)
Location: G.B Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Though Gardner-Webb hit the first basket of the game and staked an early lead during a back-and-forth first few minutes of the game, Mysta Goodloe kept the Spartans jockeying for control as he scored the team's first five points of the night. He helped Upstate move ahead of the Runnin' Bulldogs twice in the first few minutes before Gardner-Webb took its final lead of the game (6-5) with 17:18 to play in the half.
• Wrangling back the lead, one it wouldn't relinquish, Upstate used the free throw line and a floater from Jordan Gainey to craft a 6-0 lead—the team's longest of the game. Adding a second 6-0 scoring stretch, the Spartans outscored Gardner-Webb 15-4 heading into the final 10 minutes of the half, building their largest lead at 10 points.
• Fighting back to cut the lead from 10, the Runnin' Bulldogs answered the 10-point deficit with a 9-4 scoring run into the final five minutes of the half. In the stretch, Gardner-Webb limited Upstate's production from the field, holding the Spartans to 0-of-6 from the floor with all four points coming from the line.
• Heading into the locker room, the two sides were deadlocked, each scoring seven points as Upstate held a five-point lead at the break. The Spartans' seven points resulted from three field goals while five of the Runnin' Bulldogs' seven came from the charity stripe.

 
Second Half

• While Gardner-Webb may have made the first basket in the second half as well, Upstate answered with an 11-4 scoring run to push the lead back to 10. The stretch featured five straight Spartan points to answer the first Runnin' Bulldog bucket and four points to close the run.
• Cutting into the Spartan advantage and pulling their deficit back to four, the Runnin' Bulldogs followed Upstate's 11-4 stretch with a 6-0 scoring run. Snuffing the run, Upstate scored eight of the next 11 points, including a pair of threes from Mysta Goodloe and Nick Alves to take away any building momentum for Gardner-Webb.
• Setting up the final four minutes of action, the two teams remained fairly even with one another into the final stretch of the game, seeing Gardner-Webb outscore Upstate 16-13. The three-point difference in the favor of the visitors put the lead at six into the final four minutes.
• Cutting the lead to three, Gardner-Webb's Quest Aldridge hit a three to get the Runnin' Bulldogs to within a possession for the first time since the opening minutes of the half. The Spartans bowed their necks and used the free throw line to their advantage, hitting 10 of 11 attempts from the line to claim the six-point victory.

 
Notable

• With its win over Gardner-Webb, the Spartans improved to 10-8 on the year in Big South play, defeating the Runnin' Bulldogs at home in the regular season finale for the second straight season to reach 10 conference victories. The 10 Big South wins tie last season for the most for the program since joining the league ahead of the 2018-19 season.
• The Spartans' Saturday victory also improved Upstate to 11-2 at the G.B. Hodge Center in 2022-23, giving the team its most home wins since capturing 15 in 2014-15. The team's 84.6 winning percentage in 2022-23 marks the best for the program since posting a 92.9 winning percentage (13-1) in 2011-12.
• Honoring seniors, Nick Alves, Dave Dickerson III, Mysta Goodloe, Thomas Sheida, and Khydarius Smith in a pregame ceremony Saturday, the senior quintet also shared the Spartans' starting lineup against Gardner-Webb. For Dickerson III and Sheida, the start marked the first of their careers, earning them in their final game at the Hodge.

 
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