SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Closing out the team's non-conference slate as it hit the court for the final time in the calendar year, USC Upstate men's basketball sought a second-half comeback before coming up short in its fight with Youngstown State Saturday in a 72-64 decision at the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
Helping the Spartans trim a Penguin lead that grew as large as 15 in the second half, freshman guard Mister Dean dropped 16 points following the break, including 13 over the final three-and-a-half minutes. He finished the afternoon with a game-high 23 markers—two points shy of his career-high—shooting 8-of-15 from the field while adding seven rebounds, a career-high four assists, and two steals.
 
The beneficiary of three of Dean's four assists Saturday, junior forward Breylin Garcia ended the day a point shy of his career-high, pouring in 16 behind a 7-of-9 shooting performance. Freshman forward Nic Book equaled Dean on the glass for Upstate, pulling in seven boards, corralling five offensive rebounds.
 
Game Information
Score: Youngstown State 72; USC Upstate 64
Records: USC Upstate (4-11; 0-0 Big South); Youngstown State (8-5; 3-0 Horizon)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Scoring swiftly after taking the opening tap, Breylin Garcia started the day's scoring, knocking down a hook shot. Upstate grew its game-opening run to four as Karmani Gregory laid one home before Youngstown State offered a 6-0 scoring run to take the lead for the first time.
• The Spartans responded with a 6-0 scoring stretch of its own, retaking the lead as Chico Johnson followed buckets from Garcia and Gregory to fashion the run. The Penguins scored the next five points, including the day's first made three-pointer to retake the lead before Johnson hit another jumper, pushing Upstate to the advantage at the first media stoppage.
• After a pair of Penguin free throws, Upstate began lengthening its lead as it held Youngstown State without a made field goal for almost 10 minutes of game action. The Spartans reeled off a 9-1 scoring stretch, spurred by seven markers from Mister Dean, pushing the team's lead to its largest, seven points, with 6:06 to play.
• Flipping the script on the Spartans, the Penguins closed the half on a disproportionate scoring stretch, holding Upstate without a field goal for the final six minutes of the stanza. Youngstown State outscored Upstate 13-2 to close the period, fashioning separate scoring runs of 7-0 and 6-0 in the stretch.

 
Second Half

• Adding to its scoring run to close the opening half, Youngstown State secured the first basket of the new stanza, pushing its run to a game-best eight straight points. Garcia answered the Penguin run with the Spartans' first points of the second period, snapping a nearly 10-minute stretch without a field goal.
• Built behind three makes from beyond the arc, the Penguins grew their advantage into double-figures for the first time by outscoring Upstate 11-3 spanning the under-16 media. Following the Penguins' second 8-0 scoring run, Upstate remained in lockstep with Youngstown State as the game moved toward the under-12 timeout before seeing the Penguins extend its lead to its largest at 15 points at the stoppage.
• Coming out of the under-four media timeout, Dean began his strong close to Saturday's game, turning a pair of Penguin turnovers into authoritative slams, trimming the disadvantage into single digits. He'd finish the half with 13 of the final 15 points, the lone points not scored by Dean coming from Andrew McConnell following a technical foul earned by Youngstown State's Ty Harper.
• Icing the game in the final minutes, Youngstown State knocked down six consecutive free throws in the final 75 seconds. Snapping the run from the charity stripe, Dean notched the final markers of the day with a jumper coming with nine seconds remaining.

 
Notable

• Behind a game-high 23 points, Mister Dean secured his fifth 20-plus point scoring game of the season, the second most 20-plus point scoring games by a Big South player in 2024-25. Dean's five such scoring efforts equal the Spartans' 2023-24 high for such games by a single player—five from Trae Broadnax.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Following the holiday break, USC Upstate returns to action on Jan. 2 as Big South Conference play begins. The Spartans open on the road, travelling to Winthrop for a 4 p.m. ET tip.
 
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