Spartans Begin Final Homestand with Florida Gulf Coast
Game Notes
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's basketball team will close out the 2011-12 regular season with a pair of contests beginning Thursday at 7:30 p.m. when the Spartans welcome Florida Gulf Coast to the Hodge Center.
For those fans that cannot attend Thursday'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 head coach Eddie Payne is just two wins shy of 400 for his career.
• There have been 11 A-Sun Conference games decided in overtime or by four points or less so far this season, Upstate has been part of five of those. Also, home teams have won just 56.8% of their conference games, the Spartans are 6-1 in conference home games (85.7%).
• Upstate trimmed a 14-point deficit at Belmont down to three before falling to the Bruins in Nashville, 88-79 (Feb. 20).
• Ty Greene led the Spartans with 18 points against the Bruins, while Adrian Rodgers (13), Ricardo Glenn (13) and Babatunde Olumuyiwa (11) also reached double-figures.
• Upstate owned the advantage against Belmont in second-chance scoring (11-8) and bench scoring (26-19).
• The Spartans victory over Lipscomb (Feb. 18) was the first-ever for the club against an A-Sun foe in the state of Tennessee. With the win and the ETSU loss at Belmont, the Spartans are assured of a spot in the top-three in the final A-Sun standings.
• Ty Greene scored a game-high 17 points including a step-back three-pointer as time expired to lead Upstate over Lipscomb, 62-61. Greene finished 5-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
• Babatunde Olumuyiwa also reached double-figures against the Bison as he tallied 13 points on a 6-for-8 effort from the floor. Meanwhile, Jodd Maxey pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds.
• Torrey Craig is one of 25 finalists for the Lou Henson award that is given annually to the nation's top Mid-Major player. Craig is the only A-Sun player to make the final cut.
• Since a 77-74 (OT) setback at Jacksonville Jan. 16, the Spartans have won eight of their last 10 contests.
• Four different Spartans reached double-figures as Upstate cruised to a 77-52 win over North Florida (Feb. 13). Adrian Rodgers led the way with 17 points, followed by Torrey Craig (15), Ty Greene (15) and Babatunde Olumuyiwa (10).
• Against the Ospreys, Upstate shot 50.0% from the floor (27-54), 61.5% from beyond the arc (8-13) and 75.0% at the charity stripe (15-20). The Spartans opened the game with nine assists on their first 11 made baskets and the squad finished with 17 assists on 27 made field goals.
• In their first season of full eligibility, the Spartans clinched a berth in the A-Sun Tournament (Feb. 29 - Mar. 3, Macon, Ga.) with a 70-66 win over Jacksonville (2/11/12). Upstate trailed by 13 with 14:19 to play and managed to come away with the victory despite shooting just 50.0% (13-26) at the charity stripe (at one point, the Spartans were 3-of-13 (18.8%) at the line.