CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Taking the court for non-conference road play, Upstate Men's Basketball battled ACC opponent, #14 University of North Carolina where the Spartans cut the Tar Heels' lead to eight points under the five-minute mark. UNC used a 12-2 run to pull away from the Spartans, taking the win over Upstate with an 80-62 final. 

The Spartans were led by Learic Davis with 14 points shooting 5-for-8 from the field, 2-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 100 percent from the charity stripe. Mason Bendinger followed with 13 points shooting 6-for-17 from the field and 1-for-4 from beyond the arc. Karmani Gregory followed with nine points and two assists scoring all of his points in the second half. Isaiah Skinner also added nine points going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc off the bench. Tyler Smith added eight points and led with six assists while adding six rebounds. In the rebounding column, Jafeth Martinez tallied nine (three offensive and six defensive) while leading with two blocks. Overall, North Carolina edged Upstate in rebounding column 37 to 34 along with winning the paint battle 30 to 22. The Spartans tied with 11 second chance points and tied the score once along with taking the lead twice in the first half.  

Game Information 

Score: #14 North Carolina: 80: USC Upstate 62 

Records: USC Upstate (6-6; 0-0 Big South) vs. #14 North Carolina (9-1; 0-0 ACC) 

Location: Dean Smith Center| Chapel Hill, North Carolina 

How it Happened 

First Half 

• Learic Davis halts a 7-0 run from the Tar Heels scoring the first seven for the Spartans with a three-pointer and two floaters.  

• Upstate begins to stretch the floor with two consecutive three-pointers from Isaiah Skinner and Carmelo Adkins. The Spartans continued to push the pace with Mason Bendinger cutting UNC's lead to three with a layup. 

• Tyler Smith entered the fray with two consecutive triples putting the Spartans ahead 21-18 at the 8:36 mark. 

• The Tar Heels responded with a 12-0 run regaining the lead going up 32-21. As the half got closer to the final buzzer, an and-one three-pointer from Mason Bendinger cut North Carolina's lead to 33-26. Bendinger followed with the final basket of the half ending the first half with Upstate trailing 37-28. 

Second Half 

• Karmani Gregory opened the second half scoring the first three baskets with two floaters and following with a step back three-pointer.  

• The Tar Heels continued to stretch the floor pushing their lead to 12 but Upstate did not go away easily as the following three possessions saw the Spartans score with a jumper from Mason Bendinger, a triple from Isaiah Skinner and a layup from Carmelo Adkins.  

• Jafeth Martinez cut the Tar Heels lead back to single digits at the 10:15 mark as he was in the perfect position for the putback dunk. 

• Trailing by 14 under the 10-minute mark, Upstate went on a 8-0 run with two consecutive buckets from Learic Davis and Isaiah Skinner's third triple, bringing the score to 68-60.  

• Following a timeout at the three-minute mark, the Tar Heels rode the wave of a 12-2 run to finish with an 80-62 final. 

Notable 

• While being the leading scorer in today's matchup, Learic Davis continued his streak of collecting steals making it his eighth consecutive game with one steal or more.  

• Tyler Smith tied his season high in rebounds with six total with his last six rebound game being against Southern Virginia on November 8, 2025. 

• Mason Bendinger's 13-point performance tallied his 11th double-digit performance on the season through 12 games played. 

• Isaiah Skinner is currently on a six-game streak with one or more three-pointers made. Skinner has three games with two-plus triples and two with three or more.  

Up next for the Spartans  

Following their Saturday matchup against the Tar Heels, Upstate begins their three-game slate on Tuesday, December 16th, traveling to South Carolina State for a non-conference battle at 6:00 P.M. 

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