January 12, 2012

Spartans Look to Keep Pace in A-Sun Race with Two-Game Road Swing

Game Notes
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's basketball team (9-8, 3-2 Atlantic Sun) is set to return to the state of Florida, this time facing a pair of conference teams from Jacksonville.  Upstate will open the two-game swing at North Florida (9-9, 3-2) Saturday night at 7 p.m.

For those fans that cannot attend Saturday's contest there are several ways you can follow the action from the opening tip to the final horn.  Fans can follow the action by clicking the live stats and live video links above. 

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Spartan Specs

• Upstate's five-game home winning streak was snapped with a 73-66 setback against Mercer (1/9/12).

Torrey Craig was named the A-Sun Player of the Week (1/10/12) after averaging 24.7 points and 8.3 rebounds over a span of three games.  Craig posted a new career-high with 29 points at ETSU (1/4/12), followed by totals of 28 points (Kennesaw State) and 17 points (Mercer).

Ricardo Glenn finished 7-for-10 from the floor against Mercer (1/9/12) as the RS-Sophomore finished with 16 points and tied a game-high with seven rebounds.

Jodd Maxey reached the double-figure scoring column for the third consecutive contest with 11 points vs. Mercer (1/9/12).  The RS-Sophomore also grabbed six rebounds and recorded two steals.

• With the victory over Kennesaw State (W, 68-53, 1/7/12) at the Hodge Center, Upstate has now won 10 consecutive home conference openers.

• Torrey Craig tallied 28 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and eighth of his career as Upstate downed Kennesaw State (1/7/12).  His 10 field goals were the most for Upstate in more than a year; Craig connected on 11 field goal attempts last season at Kennesaw State (1/3/11).  The sophomore also sank five triples for the second consecutive contest.

• Jodd Maxey set new career highs in points (14) and field goals made (7), while tying career marks in rebounds (8) and blocks (2) in the Spartans 15-point win over the Owls (1/7/12).

• Against Kennesaw State (1/7/12), Ty Greene set a new career-best with seven assists, while posting 10 points for his eighth double-figure scoring effort of the season.

Shane Porchea logged 13 minutes of action against Kennesaw State (1/7/12).  Porchea tallied three points in his first outing since the Spartans' contest at No. 2 Ohio State (12/14/11).

• Torrey Craig posted a career-high 29 points at ETSU (1/4/12).  Craig, who scored 25 points in the final 20 minutes, was 9-of-16 from the floor, 5-of-11 from beyond the arc and 6-of-8 at the charity stripe.

• Three other Spartans joined Craig in double-figures at ETSU (1/4/12): Mario Blessing (11), Jodd Maxey (11) and Ty Greene (10).  Blessing, Maxey and Greene combined for nine of Upstate's 12 assists against the Bucs.

• Torrey Craig provided a spark for the Spartans in the second-half at South Carolina.  Craig canned four triples and finished the final period with 16 points as the Spartans comeback attempt fell just short (L, 66-72, 12/31/11).  For the game, Craig made seven field goals, including four threes.

• Jodd Maxey had a solid performance at South Carolina (12/31/11) as he finished with nine points, seven rebounds, four steals, two assists and one block.

Today's Opponent – North Florida

North Florida, who enters Saturday night's contest with a 4-4 record following a loss, had its two-game A-Sun win-streak snapped Monday night with a 68-64 loss at Stetson.

Prior to the loss to the Hatters, the Ospreys had wins over Lipscomb (W, 82-61, 1/4/12) and Florida Gulf Coast (W, 88-81 (OT), 1/7/12).  UNF rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to surge past FGCU in Fort Myers, Fla.

UNF, a team that features just 10 players, has four players averaging double-digit scoring in 2011-12.  Parker Smith, who is normally the first substitute off of the bench, leads the squad with 11.7 points per contest. 

Joining Smith in the double-figure scoring column are: Jerron Granberry (10.8), Andy Diaz (10.2) and Travis Wallace (10.1).  Wallace, the reigning A-Sun Newcomer of the week, owns the team lead with 5.9 rebounds per contest.

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