WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wrapping its stretch of three of its first four games on the road against Atlantic Coast Conference foes, USC Upstate men's basketball did not shy away from facing its first opponent of the 2024-25 season that received votes in the week's Associate Press poll as it took (RV) Wake Forest down to the wire in an 85-80 decision Wednesday evening.
 
Despite holding the lead for just 11 minutes and 10 seconds against the Demon Deacons, the Spartans used their leads to their advantage, putting themselves in a position to win the game late into the second half. Upstate's final lead fell with 3:37 left in regulation, setting up a furious fight to the finish that saw the Spartans within one as redshirt sophomore guard Karmani Gregory knocked down a contested triple with 28 seconds remaining. Wake Forest, however, held on for the victory, connecting on all four of its final free throw attempts and withstanding a final chance from the Spartans as time expired.
 
As has become customary over the first four games of the season, freshman guard Mister Dean again led the Spartans in scoring, extending his D1-era record for most consecutive games by a Spartan freshman as the team's leading scorer to begin their collegiate career. He finished his night an efficient 10-of-14 from the field, eclipsing the 20-point scoring threshold for the third consecutive game with 24 markers against the Demon Deacons.
 
Game Information
Score: (RV) Wake Forest 85; USC Upstate 80
Records: USC Upstate (1-3; 0-0 Big South); (RV) Wake Forest (4-0; 0-0 ACC)
Location: LJVM Coliseum | Winston-Salem, N.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Breaking the seal on the scoring, Wake Forest notched the first three markers of the game, notching a layup and made free throw over the game's first two-plus minutes. Upstate's first bucket came nearly three minutes into the contest with Mister Dean sinking a layup. Following Dean's field goal, the two sides went nearly two minutes until the next made bucket.
• Seeing a pair of makes from beyond the three-point arc, Upstate tied the game and took the lead on successive triples heading into the under-12 media stoppage. Drew McConnell knocked down the three to knot the game before Karmani Gregory answered a Demon Deacon layup to take the lead for the first time.
• Growing its largest lead of the night, Wake Forest responded to Upstate's lead with a 25-14 scoring stretch, pushing the advantage to 10 points. The streak saw the Demon Deacons hold the Spartans without a field goal for three-and-a-half minutes with Upstate's lone markers during that time coming from the charity stripe.
• Clawing its way back as the clock ticked away in the first half, Upstate flipped the script and outscored Wake Forest 12-5 to close the half. Brit Harris starred during the stretch for the Spartans scoring seven of the 12 points. Breylin Garcia beat the halftime buzzer, pulling Upstate within three at the break.

 
Second Half

• Carrying its momentum into the new period, Upstate battled back and tied the game within the first minute of the new half. Dean secured the half's first bucket with a layup before a Gregory three tied the game at 43. Answering a pair of Demon Deacon free throws, Dean rattled off four straight points for the Spartans, returning them the lead with 18:03 to play.
• Over the next few minutes, the lead changed five times, tying twice, as the two sides went back and forth with one another. Wake Forest was the lone team in the stretch to connect points on successive possessions. Still, McConnell answered the points with a three to tie things at 13:57. Daniel Helterhoff (three-pointer) and Carmelo Adkins (layup) fashioned Upstate's largest scoring run of the second half, delivering Upstate a lead it held for nearly eight minutes.
• Growing its lead over the following minutes, Upstate had an answer for each surrendered basket as it incrementally grew its advantage. The lead hit its largest point, six points, with 8:08 remaining in regulation, hitting the mark behind McConnell's third triple of the evening. Wake Forest fought back to retake the lead with 3:59 to play but Adkins took back the lead in the following possession before Dean responded to the Demon Deacons' next bucket, tying the game at 75 with 2:46 to play.
• Over the final two-plus minutes of the contest, Upstate continued to battle as it remained in the thick of things down the stretch. As Wake Forest grew its lead back to four, Gregory rose up once again and buried his third triple with 28 seconds remaining to pull the Spartans within one. The Demon Deacons iced the game with four free throws, growing the final margin to five.

 
Notable

• Leading Upstate in scoring against Wake Forest, Mister Dean extended his Division I era (2007-pres.) streak of games leading Upstate in scoring as a true freshman to begin his collegiate career. His streak sits at four games after setting the mark last Friday at Virginia Tech, breaking a tie with Justin Bailey (2022-23) for the milestone.
• Pouring in 24 points versus the Demon Deacons, Dean is the first Spartan freshman since Jordan Gainey from Nov. 30 to Dec. 10, 2022, to score 20-plus points in three consecutive games. Through four games in his collegiate career, Dean has scored 14 or more points in each career contest.
• Hitting 11 three-pointers Wednesday evening, Upstate has hit 10-plus threes on two occasions in 2024-25 and has made nine or more three-pointers in three straight games. The Spartans' latest streak of games with nine-plus made threes is the longest since doing so in games two through four last season.
• Knocking down 11 threes versus Wake Forest, Upstate improved its streak of consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer to 906 games, a streak dating back to the 1994-95 season. The stretch also includes each of the Spartans' 537 games at the D1 level.

 
 
Up Next for the Spartans
Coming off a two-game road swing against ACC programs, USC Upstate returns home to the G.B. Hodge Center Friday evening for a meeting with UNC Wilmington. The Spartans' second home game of the season features a 7 p.m. ET tip.
 
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