YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO – Taking the court for the final non-conference matchup, Upstate Men's Basketball battled Youngstown State in a Saturday afternoon showdown where the Spartans outdueled the Penguins in the second half but Youngstown State held off the Spartans' comeback for a 74-65 final. 

The Spartans were led by Karmani Gregory with 26 points which marked a new season-high and two points shy of his career-high. Gregory shot 10-for-17 from the field, 2-for-5 from the three-point line and 4-for-6 from the free throw line. Learic Davis followed with nine points and added seven rebounds with a new season-high of five free throws converted from the charity stripe. Tyler Smith led with a new season-high of eight rebounds (two offensive and six defensive) while adding five points and three assists. Upstate won the fastbreak battle with 11 compared to the Penguins zero.  Youngstown State edged past Upstate with 30 points in the paint compared to the Spartans' 28 while grabbing 37 rebounds (10 offensive and 27 defensive) to Upstate's 34 (eight offensive and 26 defensive). 

Game Information 

Score: Youngstown State 74: USC Upstate 65 

Records: USC Upstate (8-7; 0-0 Big South) vs. Youngstown State (8-5; 2-1 Horizon League) 

Location: Beegley Center | Youngstown, Ohio 

How it Happened 

First Half 

• Upstate jumped to a 6-5 lead with a free throw from Learic Davis and two consecutive scores from Karmani Gregory, one being a three-pointer and another being a mid-range jumper. 

• Youngstown State responded with four consecutive triples taking the lead under the 12 minute mark. Tyler Smith's floor vision resulted in finding Jafeth Martinez for the dunk to stop the run and Isaiah Skinner followed with a stepback triple of his own. 

• Upstate cut the deficit to single digits with two free throws from Jafeth Martinez and a layup from Carmelo Adkins bringing the score to 30-22 at the 6:32 mark. 

• Youngstown State leaned on their leading scorer, Cris Carroll scoring the final seven points for the Penguins as Upstate trailed 40-28 at the break. 

Second Half 

• Upstate opened on a 6-0 run with two free throws from Mason Bendinger, a mid range jumper from Tyler Smith and a Upstate's defense turning into offense with a block from Jafeth Martinez resulting in Learic Davis scoring on the other end. 

• Karmani Gregory upped the ante scoring on the following two possessions cutting Upstate's deficit to 50-46. 

• Youngstown State responded going on a 8-2 run bringing their lead back to 10 but the Spartans continued showing fight as Karmani Gregory converted on a jumper and a three-point bomb bringing the score to 60-54. 

• Under the five minute mark, Youngstown State began leaning on their paint attack extending their lead to six. The Penguins converted on the following three free throws and added two layups to hold on the for the win. 

Notable 

• Upstate Men's Basketball ends non-conference play over .500 which the best start going into Big South play since joining the league during the 2018-19 season. 

• Karmani Gregory's 26 point performance is his highest scoring outing since Nov. 3, 2025 and his fourth 20+ point performance of the season. 

• Breylin Garcia made his return to the court for the first time since November 8, 2025 bringing frontcourt depth, scoring four points in 12 minutes. 

Up next for the Spartans  

Following the road matchup at Youngstown State, Upstate Men's Basketball will have some time to enjoy the holidays and will come back together to open Big South play on New Year's Eve hosting Radford for an afternoon showdown at 2:00 P.M. eastern time live on ESPN+.  

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