SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Returning to the court for a non-conference battle at the G.B. Hodge Center, Upstate Men's Basketball battled Sun Belt opponent Coastal Carolina in an instant classic that saw the Spartans overcome the Chants' early momentum to grind out an 85-78 overtime final. 

The Spartans were led by Mason Bendinger netting a new career-high with 27 points while shooting 7-for-16 from the field, 1-for-2 from beyond the arc, and a new career high of 12 made free throws. Bendinger added five rebounds and one steal in the performance. Karmani Gregory followed with his second consecutive 20+ point performance with 21 points, shooting 9-for-17 from the field and grabbing a new career high with seven rebounds. Carmelo Adkins added 14 points while adding a new season high of seven made free throws. Learic Davis rounded out the double figure performance with 11 points shooting 4-for-8 from the field, 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, and leading Upstate with nine rebounds. 

Upstate won the rebounding battle with 47 total rebounds (11 offensive and 36 defensive) compared to Coastal's 44 rebounds (12 offensive and 32 defensive). Learic Davis led with nine rebounds followed by Karmani Gregory adding seven and Mason Bendinger, Tyler Smith, Coen Collier and Jafeth Martinez contributing with five rebounds apiece. The Spartans' rim protection continues to cause trouble for opponents adding nine total with Jafeth Martinez having his second game of the season with four blocks. Coen Collier and Learic Davis each added two blocks along with Carmelo Adkins adding one block. Upstate edged past the Chants with 34 points in the paint opposed to Coastal's 32.  

Game Information 

Score: USC Upstate 85: Coastal Carolina 78 

Records: USC Upstate (5-5; 0-0 Big South) vs. Coastal Carolina (5-4; 0-0 Sun Belt) 

Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, South Carolina 

How it Happened 

First Half 

• Coastal Carolina opens on a 17-2 run fueled by three-pointers and driving to the cup with multiple free throws. 

• Under the 10-minute mark, Upstate trailed 21-4 before Learic Davis and Isaiah Skinner halted the run with two consecutive three-pointers cutting the deficit to 11.  

• Following a mid-range jumper from Tyler Smith resulting in an and-one, Upstate ended the half 14-4 run, cutting Coastal's lead to 31-25. 

Second Half 

• Upstate opened the second half continuing to stay within the battle as Mason Bendinger began finding his footing with two consecutive scores, cutting the lead to 34-30.  

• Coastal Carolina added a layup and three triples moving their lead back to double digits under the 15-minute mark.  

• The Spartans continued to push the pace going into a small ball lineup with Learic Davis adding a three-pointer and following with a dunk on the next possession. The momentum continued shifting for Upstate with four consecutive triples from Karmani Gregory, Carmelo Adkins, Learic Davis and Mason Bendinger bringing the game to 55-53 at 6:23 mark. 

• A layup from Mason Bendinger tied the game at 55, but Coastal Carolina followed with two triples and a layup from AJ Dancler moving their lead back to 63-57. 

• Moving under the one-minute mark, a layup from Karmani Gregory and multiple free throws from Mason Bendinger knotted the game at 63 at the 40 second mark.  

• A late foul from Bendinger saw Coastal take the lead with two converted free throws with 14 seconds left. With the next possession for Upstate, the speed of Karmani Gregory was too much for the Chants as he sprinted past the defense for the game-tying layup.  

• With two seconds left on the clock, Coastal looked to inbound for one last shot, but the long wingspan from Learic Davis sealed the period with a steal pushing the game to overtime. 

Overtime 

• Coming into overtime, Jafeth Martinez entered the fray, knocking down two free throws for Upstate to take their first lead of the night.  

• Upstate fed off the Hodge energy as Karmani Gregory tricked the defense again with his speed for another layup then followed with two free throws from the charity stripe.  

• Upstate shot 88 percent during overtime from charity stripe with Mason Bendinger converting the following 12 free throws through the final minute, helping the seal the win to complete the comeback. 

Notable 

• Mason Bendinger's 27 points added his new career high in points and 12 free throws. Bendinger has become a double-digit machine scoring in double figures in nine of 10 games, moving his average to 16.2 points per game. 

• Karmani Gregory added his third 20+ point game of the season with 21 points while adding a new career high with seven rebounds. Gregory has scored in double figures nine of 10 games in the season.  

• Jafeth Martinez led with four blocks for the Spartans moving his season total to 22 blocks moving him to first in the Big South averaging 2.2 blocks a game. 

Up next for the Spartans  

Continuing action at the G.B. Hodge Center, Upstate Men's Basketball will return to the court for Saturday afternoon action hosting Western Carolina live on ESPN+ at 2:00 P.M. Eastern time.  

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