COLUMBIA, S.C. – On the road for the final time in the team's non-conference slate and facing a Power-Four program for the final time this season, USC Upstate men's basketball remained resilient in its battle with South Carolina Saturday afternoon, a 73-53 decision inside Colonial Life Arena.
 
Heading the Spartans' efforts, junior forward Breylin Garcia secured his first career double-double, posting 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. He finished the afternoon as the lone Spartan scoring in double-figures, constructing his scoring total behind a 7-of-12 shooting performance while adding two assists, one steal, and one block to his stat line.
 
Just shy of double-figures, freshman forward Nic Book and redshirt sophomore guard Karmani Gregory poured in eight markers apiece. Book's total comes behind a 4-of-7 shooting performance while Gregory supplemented his points with three rebounds. Gregory and freshman guard Carmelo Adkins proved iron men for the Spartans Saturday, playing career-high 36 and 38 minutes, respectively.
 
Game Information
Score: South Carolina 73; USC Upstate 53
Records: USC Upstate (4-9; 0-0 Big South); South Carolina (7-3; 0-0 SEC)
Location: Colonial Life Arena | Columbia, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Kickstarting the Spartan scoring following an opening tip victory, Karmani Gregory drove downhill, hitting a tough layup to begin the scoring. He'd score the first four markers for Upstate as they went back and forth with South Carolina. The lone difference—leading to the six-point margin—at the first media stoppage came behind the arc where the Gamecocks drilled two attempts.
• Spanning the under-16 media, South Carolina built its largest scoring run of the half, a 7-0 run before Upstate called a timeout with 13:13 remaining before a pair of Andrew McConnell free throws snapped the scoring stretch. Slamming one home off an inbounds alley-oop from Gregory, Nic Book gave Upstate its first scoring run of the day.
• Chipping away at the Gamecock advantage, Breylin Garcia scored four consecutive points for the Spartans. Fashioning another short scoring spurt, Upstate scored four straight markers into the under-four media timeout, a dunk from Brit Harris and long jumper from Chico Johnson.
• Countering a second 7-0 scoring run from the Gamecocks, the Spartans continued whittling away at the lead heading into the locker room, reeling off a 7-0 run of its own. Garcia and Gregory bookended an Isaiah Skinner three—the Spartans' lone triple of the half, trimming the South Carolina advantage to seven at the break.

 
Second Half

• Out of the locker room, South Carolina tallied the first four points before Nic Book laid one home for his first points of the half. Keeping pace with the Gamecocks, Upstate answered each South Carolina field goal following the 4-0 run to open the half with Carmelo Adkins and Book hitting a fastbreak layup and tip-in, respectively.
• Following Book's second field goal of the half, the Gamecocks fashioned a 16-4 scoring stretch to expand upon its advantage, stringing together runs of 5-0, 3-0, and 8-0 in the stretch. Garcia hit both Spartans' field goals in the scoring stretch, ending with an Upstate timeout with 9:02 remaining.
• Down the stretch, Upstate fashioned a pair of 4-0 scoring runs as it aimed to keep cutting into the Gamecock advantage. The first saw Adkins and Garcia spur the run and the second featured markers from Gregory and Isaiah Skinner. The Spartans finished the night with the final field goal as Nic Book knocked down a pull-up baseline jumper at the buzzer.

 
Notable

• Breylin Garcia's first career double-double marked the first Spartan double-double of the 2024-25 season as he poured in 14 points and corralled a career-high 13 rebounds. It is the first Spartan double-double since Ahmir Langlais (10 points; 12 rebounds) versus Gardner-Webb on Feb. 17, 2024.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
In the team's penultimate game of its non-conference slate, USC Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center for a date with South Carolina State. The Spartans and Bulldogs tip off Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET.
 
Connect with the Spartans 
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics 
Twitter | @UpstateMBB | @UpstateSpartans 
Instagram | @Upstate_MBB | @UpstateSpartans 
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
 
INVEST IN CHAMPIONS - Join the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF) and enjoy enhanced benefits for your support of all USC Upstate programs! Make your gift today, click here!