SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Returning to the G.B. Hodge Center for their third consecutive matchup in Big South play, USC Upstate took the court against Gardner-Webb where Karmani Gregory scored his second consecutive 20 point game during the week of play surpassing his career high for 27 Points.  

Earlier in the week against UNC Asheville, Karmani Gregory scored 23 Points which was his career high at the time while shooting 10-for-16 from the field and 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. In the matchup against Gardner-Webb, Gregory followed with his second consecutive 20 point game heading the scoring column with 27 Points shooting 10-for-19 from the field and 3-for-5 from the three-point line. Mister Dean followed 15 Points while grabbing five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. The versatility of scoring continued with Carmelo Adkins going for 14 points on a 4-for-8 shooting night while going 3-for-7 from the three-point line and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Daniel Helterhoff surpassed his original career high scoring 11 points on an 80 percent shooting night, 50 percent from the three-point line, and 100 percent from the charity stripe.  

USC Upstate outran the Runnin' Bulldogs in transition winning the fastbreak battle with 17 fastbreak points compared to Gardner-Webb's nine. The Spartans have continued to shoot the ball at a respectable clip from beyond the arc shooting 38.5 percent compared to Gardner Webb's 29.2 percent. USC Upstate put an emphasis on attacking the lane and drawing fouls to finish with a better free throw percentage at 78.9 percent. Gardner-Webb's gameplan to attack the paint displayed with outdueling the Spartans with 54 Points in the Paint to Upstate's 42. 

Game Information 

Score: USC Upstate 87; Gardner-Webb 96 

Records: USC Upstate (5-23; Big South 1-12); Gardner-Webb (10-15; Big South 5-6) 

Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C. 

How it Happened 

First Half 

• From the Opening tip, the action picked up with USC Upstate opening with Carmelo Adkins connecting on a three-pointer and two consecutive layups from Daniel Helterhoff adding an early 7-2 lead. 

• Gardner-Webb adjusted to Upstate's quick start responding with a 11-3 run to wipe the early lead away. The Runnin' Bulldogs took the approach of attacking in the paint rather than spreading the floor for three-pointers moving their lead to 23-12 by the first media timeout. 

• USC Upstate climbed their way with Mister Dean starting the charge with a steal and layup to cut the lead to single digits. Dean followed with two consecutive layups and a free throw bringing the game to a 23-22 score.  

• Under the 10 minute mark, the Runnin' Bulldogs used a 14-5 run to jump ahead and neutralize the Spartans ending the half with 50-43 score. 

Second Half 

• Karmani Gregory opened the second half cutting the Gardner-Webb lead to six with a three-pointer. The Spartans continued to climb their way back scoring six points on two three-pointers from Carmelo Adkins and Brit Harris. 

• Gardner-Webb used a 12-0 run to the fate of the game into their hands with attacking the paint with multiple layups while converting free throws to lead 82-68. 

• Karmani Gregory and Carmelo Adkins used two consecutive and-one layups to halt the run and cut the Gardner-Webb lead back to single digits. 

• Under the one minute mark, USC Upstate forced two turnovers with steals from Isaiah Skinner and Karmani Gregory to bring the game to an 88-83 showdown. Gardner-Webb converted on their trips at the free throw line scoring their last seven out of nine points from the charity stripe to win 96-87. 

Notable 

• Redshirt Sophomore guard averaged 25.0 points two games on the week ending as the leading scorer against UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb.  

• The Spartans will have one more battle on their homecourt with their regular season finale on Saturday, March 1st against Longwood.  

Up Next for the Spartans 

For the first time in seven weeks, USC Upstate will not have two games in one week as usual and will return to the court beginning their two-game road trip at Charleston Southern Saturday, February 22 with a 2:00 p.m. scheduled tip. 

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