SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Showing its resolve and battling back from a long first-half scoreless stretch and a double-digit second-half deficit, USC Upstate men's basketball battled back Saturday afternoon to force overtime and see a chance to win in the final seconds against Winthrop as Big South Conference play continued at the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
Helping the Spartans erase the double-digit deficit in the second half, five players finished the night in double-figures, the first time in 11 games with five Spartans scoring in double-figures. For the second straight game, graduate student guard Nick Alves paced Upstate in scoring, dropping 16 points as he finished the afternoon 7-of-10 shooting. The game marks the third straight for Alves equaling or surpassing his career-high scoring total entering the season (16 points) as he's made seven field goals in each of the past three games, shooting 21-of-29 in the stretch.
 
One of two players finishing just behind Alves in the scoring column with 14 points apiece, redshirt senior forward Ahmir Langlais secured his third double-double of the season—and fourth of his career—as he poured in 14 points and corralled 11 rebounds, shooting 6-of-7 from the field. Rounding out the trio of double-figure scorers were graduate student guard Miguel Ayesa, redshirt junior guard Trae Broadnax, and sophomore guard Justin Bailey who scored, 14, 13, and 12 points, respectively.
 
Game Information
Score: Winthrop 82; USC Upstate 80 (OT)
Records: USC Upstate (5-10; 0-2 Big South); Winthrop (11-6; 2-0 Big South)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Opening the night, the three-ball played a key role in the game's early scoring as each of the first four triples fell, including three straight from Upstate to build an early lead. The Spartans' 9-0 scoring run marked the team's longest of the afternoon and set up a 13-2 scoring stretch following Winthrop's opening field goal, forcing the Eagles to take an early timeout.
• Out of the called timeout, Winthrop's Nick Johnson converted a traditional three-point play to snap the Spartans' scoring stretch. Upstate responded on the other end as Justin Bailey converted a four-point play, delivering the Spartans' their largest lead of the game at nine points.
• Coming off Bailey's four-point play, the Eagles crafted their longest scoring run of the game, stringing together 13 consecutive points to retake the lead. During the stretch, Winthrop held Upstate without a field goal for over six minutes—holding Upstate to 0-of-6 from the floor—before a driving layup from Nick Alves snapped the scoreless stretch.
• After Ahmir Langlais tied the game with a layup with six-and-a-half minutes to play in the half, Winthrop fashioned a 7-0 scoring run to regain the lead for the remainder of the half, finishing the period by outscoring the Spartans 15-8. Before heading into the locker room, Trae Broadnax hit a pair of free throws as he was fouled on a last-second shot attempt, cutting the deficit to seven at the break.

 
Second Half

• Adding to his free throws to close the first half, Broadnax kicked off the second half's scoring as her knocked down a three. Much like in the opening period, the Spartans began the half outscoring its foe, this time to the tune of a 9-4 run to open the half and pull within two.
• Winthrop kept itself ahead of Upstate as it flipped the script and countered the Spartans' scoring stretch with an 8-5 scoring stretch to push the lead back to five. The Eagles extended the stretch to 19-11 as the game headed for the halfway point of the second half with Winthrop growing the lead to 10 with 10 minutes to play.
• Battling back from the game's largest deficit, Upstate opened the back half of the period on a 9-1 scoring run, seeing the run broken up by a free throw as it closed with a 7-0 run for the Spartans. Upstate fought back to keep itself within striking distance, keeping the Eagles' lead at single digits into the final five minutes of the half.
• Seeing the Winthrop lead grow to six with 4:30 to play in regulation, Upstate answered with a 5-0 scoring run to put itself within one heading into the final two minutes of the half. The Eagles countered with a driving layup to push the lead back to three before the Spartans' Miguel Ayesa knocked down a corner three to tie the game. Upstate then forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play, setting up a go-ahead look at the final buzzer.

 
Overtime

• Taking the opening tip in the extra period, Upstate collected the first points of overtime as Langlais hit a layup, giving Upstate the opening bucket of each period in the game. Winthrop scored the next four points to regain the lead before Alves knotted things up with a layup. Langlais followed two Eagles' free throws with another layup, creating a third tie in the extra period.
• Over the final two minutes, Upstate held Winthrop without a field goal, running the Eagles' stretch without a field goal to over three minutes to close the game. However, Winthrop took the lead with a 4-0 scoring stretch from the free throw line going into the final minute before Bailey (free throw) and Broadnax (layup) put Upstate within one. The Eagles iced the game with a made three throw with 23 seconds remaining, withstanding a pair of looks from the Spartans for the win in the final seconds.

 
Notable

• Hitting another seven field goals against Winthrop, Nick Alves has scored 16 or more points and hit seven field goals in each of his last three games after leading the Spartans with 16 points Saturday. His three-game stretch makes him the first Spartan with three or more consecutive 15-plus point games, becoming the first Spartan since Justin Bailey (three straight games; 2/8/15 to 2/15/23) and Jordan Gainey (five straight games; 2/1/23 to 2/15/23) to accomplish the feat.
• With 14 points and 11 rebounds Saturday, Ahmir Langlais recorded his third double-double of the season and has notched each of the past four double-doubles by a Spartan dating back to last season. He's the first Spartan with three or more double-doubles in a season since Nevin Zink totaled three double-doubles during the 2020-21 season.
• Knocking down 11 threes against the Eagles, Upstate improved its streak of consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer to 887 games, a streak dating back to the 1994-95 season. The streak includes each of the Spartans' 518 games at the NCAA Division I level (2007-pres.).

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Coming off consecutive conference games to open the new year, Upstate sees the first of its two Big South byes as it plays no league game during the midweek. Instead, the Spartans return to action next Saturday, travelling to the Lowcountry for a meeting with Charleston Southern.
 
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