RALEIGH, N.C. – The beginning of a new season marked the beginning of a new era for USC Upstate men's basketball as Monday at NC State the Spartans played their first regular season game under first-year head coach Marty Richter. Upstate battled in its season opener, as it held the lead and kept the game tight during the first quarter against a Wolfpack program coming off a Final Four appearance before falling in the second half 97-66 at the Lenovo Center.
 
Three Spartans finished the night scoring in double-figures with the trio headed by freshman guard Mister Dean who finished the night with a game-best 14 points. Junior guard Karmani Gregory and freshman forward Nic Book finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively, to round out the trio. Eleven Spartans made their season debuts—10 making their USC Upstate debuts—Monday with 10 of the 11 debutants marking in the score column of the box score.
 
Leading Upstate on the glass, Book pulled in nine rebounds as he neared a double-double in his first collegiate action. Overall, the Spartans hauled in 37 rebounds to the Wolfpack's 43 with 17 boards coming via the offensive glass, the most for Upstate in a game since Nov. 23, 2021, versus South Carolina State.
 
Game Information
Score: NC State 97; USC Upstate 66
Records: USC Upstate (0-1; 0-0 Big South); NC State (1-0; 0-0 ACC)
Location: Lenovo Center | Raleigh, N.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Despite seeing NC State open its defense campaign of last season's Final Four run with the game's first basket, Upstate did not flinch as Daniel Helterhoff scored the Spartans' first bucket of the year. The Spartans went back and forth with the Wolfpack in the game's first minutes before building a pair of early advantages behind a dunk from Mister Dean and tip-in from Isaiah Skinner before a driving layup from Chico Johnson.
• Seeing Upstate lead with 15:12 remaining in the first half, NC State retook the lead with a small four-point burst. The Spartans responded to keep the margin within a possession before the Wolfpack rallied momentum. NC State embarked on a 15-point scoring run, building its lead to double-digits for the first time.
• Following the lengthy scoring stretch, Upstate fought right back, outscoring the Wolfpack 11-2 to trim the deficit to single digits. Kanye Jones sparked the stretch for the Spartans with five consecutive markers before Brit Harris (two jumpers) and Nic Book (two free throws) scored six straight on the other side of an NC State layup.
• With the lead cut to eight points, the Wolfpack pushed it back to double figures with six straight points. Karmani Gregory helped Upstate keep the lead manageable as the first-half clock ticked away, closing the half with nine of his 13 points scored in the final four minutes, including a three at the buzzer.

 
Second Half

• Building on Gregory's buzzer-beater ahead of the break, Upstate began the second half with some momentum as Mister Dean scored six straight points for the Spartans to begin the new period. NC State, however, followed Dean's final marker in his six straight for Upstate to open the half with its first double-digit scoring run, a 10-0 rally to push the lead north of 20 points for the first time.
• Carmelo Adkins snapped the scoring run with a three for the Spartans as Upstate battled to keep the deficit hovering around the 20-point mark. Adkins bookended the scoring for Upstate as it fought to keep the deficit around 20 points, cutting it to 20 for the final time with a layup at 7:56 remaining.
• Behind the longest scoring run of the second half, NC State opened its lead with an 11-0 scoring spurt heading towards the under-four media timeout. Closing out the night's scoring for Upstate, Book tallied the final two buckets for the Spartans, pushing his scoring total to 10.

 
Notable

• Opening the 2024-25 season, 10 Spartans made their USC Upstate debuts against NC State. All 10 debutants also scored for Upstate. The game also marked the first for the program under the direction of head coach Marty Richter.
• Three Spartans finished the night scoring in double-figures, including a game-high 14 points from Mister Dean. Karmani Gregory (13 points) and Nic Book (10 points) rounded out the double-figure scorers.
• Upstate corralled 17 offensive rebounds versus the Wolfpack, the most for the program in a single contest since Nov. 23, 2021, against South Carolina State (17).

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Wasting little time in getting back to action, USC Upstate's season rolls on next Wednesday as it returns to the G.B. Hodge Center for the first time. The Spartans host Piedmont for a 7 p.m. ET clash in the middle game of their three-game week.
 
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