SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Beginning the front end of a two-game homestand and looking to capture its second straight home Big South victory on the floor at the G.B. Hodge Center, USC Upstate men's basketball completed its season sweep of Charleston Southern, outlasting the Buccaneers in overtime, 100-93, Saturday afternoon. The win, in addition to completing the season sweep of the Buccaneers, also stands as Upstate's third overtime victory in 2025-26, the second against Charleston Southern.
 
For the first time since Jan. 29, 2018, Upstate saw three Spartans score 20-plus points in the same contest as redshirt junior guard Karmani Gregory, junior guard Mason Bendinger, and sophomore guard Carmelo Adkins notched 29, 25, and 20 markers, respectively. Adding another player scoring 15 or more points, senior forward Breylin Garcia tallied 16 points, finishing 7-of-10 from the floor.
 
The trio of 20-plus-point scorers helped Upstate hit the 100-point mark in a Big South Conference game for the first time in program history, posting its first 100-plus-point game against a Division I or conference foe since scoring 100 against North Florida on Feb. 15, 2018.
 
Gregory poured in his career-best 19 markers behind 7-of-17 shooting (3-of-6 from three) while going a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe. His 12 made free throws tie the 12 made by Bendinger—in 15 attempts—against Coastal Carolina on Dec. 3, 2025, for the most made free throws by a Spartan in a single game this season. He supplemented his scoring with seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals.
 
Defensively, Upstate forced 17 turnovers, generating 30 points off turnovers compared to the two points off three total turnovers created by the Buccaneers. The Spartans swiped 12 steals, reaching double-digit thefts for the fourth time this season—the first against a Division I foe—with Garcia and junior guard Tyler Smith each totaling three steals to head the effort.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 100; Charleston Southern 94 [OT]
Records: USC Upstate (11-14; 3-7 Big South); Charleston Southern (11-14; 2-8 Big South)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Coming down the court on its second possession of the game, Upstate broke the seal on the game's scoring as Carmelo Adkins knocked down a midrange jumper. On the ensuing possession, Adkins found Isaiah Skinner in transition, canning a trey to run the game-opening scoring run for the Spartans to five.
• The Spartans built their early advantage to 7-2 before Charleston Southern countered with a 9-2 scoring stretch, taking the lead for the first time. Following the Buccaneers' first lead of the afternoon, the two sides traded the lead eight times ahead of the contest's next scoring run, a 7-0 spurt, which delivered Charleston Southern the largest advantage—for either side—of the first half.
• Countering the Buccaneers' largest lead of the opening stanza, Upstate outscored its foe 11-4 heading into the under-four media stoppage, regaining the advantage with 3:29 to play in the half for the first time since the 9:39 mark.
• Remaining a one-possession game the remainder of the period, the teams traded the advantage five additional times in the final three minutes. Charleston Southern's final response of the half delivered a one-point lead at the break.

Second Half

• Continuing to feel each other out in the new stanza, each side came up empty on its first possession of the second half before Charleston Southern hit a triple to expand the lead to four. Adkins answered the trey with a turnaround jumper and the ensuing Buccaneer free throws with a floater, his floater sparking a 6-0 run to push the lead back in the Spartans' favor, the first of five lead changes in the second half.
• Lead changes two, three, and four in the second half occurred in quick succession, spanning a minute-and-a-half portion heading into the under-16 media timeout. Charleston Southern held its advantage into the under-12 stoppage, growing the lead to as many as six into the stoppage.
• The Buccaneers, using a free throw with 10:46 to play in regulation, part of a traditional three-point play, increased their advantage to seven, their largest of the afternoon. Turning to its defense, Upstate forced four Buccaneer turnovers to ignite a 12-2 scoring stretch, allowing the Spartans to capitalize on the game's final lead change.
• Upstate lengthened its lead to seven with 3:41 in regulation, flipping the game's momentum with a 24-10 stretch of scoring in its favor. The Buccaneers, not to be deterred, outscored the Spartans 11-2 over the game's final three-plus minutes, forcing the game into overtime.

Overtime

• Coming up the court after Charleston Southern missed the front end of a one-and-one, Tyler Smith drained his lone three-point attempt, providing Upstate with the remaining momentum to ice the victory.
• The Spartans held the Buccaneers without a field goal make, limiting Charleston Southern to 0-of-11 from the field (0-of-6 from three) in the extra period. Upstate outscored its foe 9-3 in overtime, a pair of Karmani Gregory field goals with 28 seconds to play fashioning the final margin.

 
Notable

• Claiming its third overtime victory of the season, USC Upstate improved to 3-0 in games heading to the extra period this season. Its three wins are the most overtime wins in a single season while the 2025-26 campaign joins the 1988-89 season as the lone seasons with Upstate remaining unbeaten when playing multiple overtime contests.
• Adding its three overtime wins this season to its 86-81 overtime win at High Point on Feb. 14, 2024, Upstate owns a four-game winning streak in overtime games. The streak marks the longest in program history.
• Dropping 100 points against Charleston Southern Saturday, USC Upstate notched its first game scoring 100 or more points against a Big South competitor. The Spartans' previous high-water scoring mark in a Big South game was 95 points scored against Winthrop on Feb. 8, 2025.
• Saturday's game marked the first to see the Spartans score 100 or more points against a Division I and/or conference opponent since Feb. 15, 2018, when Upstate dropped 100 points against North Florida.
• Seeing three Spartans score 20 or more points, Saturday's game is the first since Jan. 29, 2018, versus Lipscomb to see three or more 20-plus point scoring Spartans. The trio of Karmani Gregory (29), Mason Bendinger (25), and Carmelo Adkins (20) is the first since Deion Holmes (39), Mike Cunningham (23), and Malik Moore (20) to each score 20 or more points in the same game.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Continuing its two-game homestand, USC Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center Thursday for a 7 p.m. ET tip-off against High Point.
 
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!