Feb. 15, 2008

Complete Upstate vs. Belmont Game Notes in PDF Format

Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate hosts A-Sun frontrunner Belmont Saturday afternoon at 4:00 in the Hodge Center. Upstate enters the game with a 6-20 overall record and a 4-8 mark in the A-Sun following Thursday's 57-53 loss to Lipscomb. Belmont enters the game with an 18-8 overall record and a 10-2 mark in the A-Sun following Thursday's 87-75 win at East Tennessee State. Spartan fans can listen live on the radio in the Spartanburg area on ESPN 1400 AM or online at either www.upstatespartans.com or www.espn1400am.com. Follow the game online through ASun.TV by visiting the ASun.TV website at www.asun.tv/uscupstate. Get live statistical updates using Gametracker on Upstate's atheltics website at www.upstatespartans.com.

Recapping Lipscomb
Upstate did a solid job guarding nearly every key Lipscomb player, holding the Bisons to just 57 points on the night. However, the Spartans did not have the answer for Josh Slater. Slater had a career night with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lift Lipscomb to a 57-53 victory over Upstate Thursday night.

Upstate took the lead on two occasions in the second half, but Lipscomb gained the lead midway through the half and never let the Spartans back in the game. Luke Payne led Upstate with 20 points, while Jeremy Byrd added 18.

Belmont Runs Away From Upstate Late In First Half
In the season's first meeting between Upstate and Belmont in Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 19, Belmont used an 11-2 run to break a 26-26 tie and take a nine-point lead at halftime. The Bruins then used four straight three-pointers to open the second half to build its lead to 17 and went away for the 76-52 victory. Shane Dansby led Belmont with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Jeremy Byrd led Upstate with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals. Luke Payne added 11 for the Spartans.

Davis Reaches Double Figures
For all of the season, Luke Payne was the only Upstate player to average in double figures. He still leads the team in scoring at 14.2 ppg, but Bobby Davis has joined the senior in double figures. With 20 points at Stetson Friday night, Davis raised his scoring average to 10.1 points per outing for the season. It marked the second time in three games that the junior forward has scored 20 or more points. He now averages 11.3 ppg during A-Sun conference games.

Spartans Non-Conference Schedule 18th
Upon completion of the 14-game non-conference schedule on Jan. 2 at Iowa State, USC Upstate's schedule was ranked as the 18th-toughest schedule by Jeff Sagarin in his daily updated strength of schedule index of all 341 Division I teams.

Byrd Would Be No. 3 If...
Senior point guard Jeremy Byrd is used to sitting atop conference or national statistical lists for steals. He led the Peach Belt Conference in steals in each of the last three years and spent over half of the season last year atop the nation in steals in NCAA Division II.

While Upstate is playing in its first season of Division I competition and is in its reclassifying years, the NCAA does not recognize players on teams who are reclassifying on their statistical leader lists. However, if Byrd were eligible, he would rank third in the nation with 3.0 steals per game, trailing Texas-San Antonio's Devin Gibson by 0.4 spg and South Carolina's Devan Downey by 0.2 spg. He does lead the A-Sun in steals, nearly a full steal ahead of No. 2 on the list.

Byrd 22nd All-Time In NCAA Steals Category...
Jeremy Byrd now has 341 steals in his standout career at Upstate. The 341 steals ranks 22nd all-time in the NCAA in total steals among individuals in all divisions (I, II and III). He is currently tied at No. 22 with Drexel's Michael Anderson and Cleveland State's Kenny Robertson. At his current average, Byrd could finish in the Top 15 by season's end.

Home Sweet Home
Despite playing just 10 games at home this season, the Spartans will be happy to do so. Upstate has a solid home record, going 58-20 in six years under head coach Eddie Payne.

Hold `Em At 59
USC Upstate is 5-1 when holding opponents under 60 points this season and 1-19 when allowing opponents to score 60 or more. The Spartans claimed wins over Brevard (78-54), SMU (58-56), Gardner-Webb (73-59), North Florida (53-52) and Mercer (75-49) when holding opponents under 60 points. The only time Upstate has lost while holding opponents under 60 points came on Feb. 14 against Lipscomb as the Spartans fell, 57-53.

Breaking The Trend
Upstate did something against Kennesaw State that the team had not accomplished in any game this season, the Spartans won a game despite allowing an opponent to score 60 or more points. Prior to the Kennesaw State game, Upstate was 0-17 in games when the opponent scored 60 or more points.

Spartans Defensive In A-Sun Play
Since beginning A-Sun play, USC Upstate's effort on the defensive end of the court has picked up. The Spartans allowed non-conference opponents to score 74.6 points per outing. In A-Sun games, though, Upstate has clamped down to hold opponents to a 64.9 ppg scoring average. In non-conference play, opponents shot 47.8 percent from the floor, while league opponents are shooting 41.2 percent from the field.

Byrd Feeling Sunny In League Play
Senior point guard Jeremy Byrd has certainly come into his own during A-Sun play this year. Having served a three-game suspension earlier in the season, the Greenville, S.C., native seemingly lost confidence. Since league play began on Jan. 5, though, Byrd has returned to the form he had during his first three seasons when the electrifying player led the team as the floor general. He currently ranks third on the team in scoring during league games at 11.3 ppg. He also averages 3.3 rebounds per outing, has dished out a team-best 41 assists and picked a team-high 29 steals in the 12 league games. He has reached double figures in nine of the 12 league games, including a season-high 18 against Lipscomb. Prior to the start of conference play, nine had only reached double figures one time.

Three In Double Figures
Three Spartans average in double figures in league games. Payne leads the way at 14.0 ppg, but Bobby Davis and Jeremy Byrd are close behind. Davis, who is second on the team overall with 10.1 ppg, averages 11.8 ppg, while Byrd scores at a 11.3 ppg clip.

Shaking Up The Lineup
Head Coach Eddie Payne has used 10 different starting lineups in 24 games this season. Bobby Davis is the only Spartan to start every game this season. Luke Payne has started 25 of the 26 games this year, his lone missed start coming against IUPUI when he did not start because of a severe thigh bruise. Despite not starting, he played 30 minutes in the game and finished with nine points.

Payne Receives A-Sun Weekly Honor
Senior guard Luke Payne became the first basketball player (men or women) at USC Upstate to receive weekly honors from the Atlantic Sun Conference when he was named the league's player of the week on Dec. 24. Payne received the honor after averaging 18.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game and leading Upstate to their first win over a Division I opponent, a 58-56 victory at SMU (Dec. 18).

Payne Receives BP TOWC Honor
Despite playing the final two games, and part of the first, with a deep thigh bruise at the BP Top of the World Classic Nov. 16-18, starting guard Luke Payne played well enough to garner All-Tournament honors. He scored 43 points in three games, averaging 14.3 points and three rebounds per outing in the tournament. He scored 17 points against Akron and Oregon State and nine against IUPUI.

Payne Receives Sun Bowl Honor
Luke Payne had a tremendous tournament at the State Farm Sun Bowl Tournament in El Paso, Texas, Dec. 21-22. His performance, in particular, in the second game of the tourney against Buffalo not only secured his spot on the All-Tournament team, but it overshadowed a standout two-game performance by teammate Bobby Davis.

Payne finished the UTEP game (Dec. 21) with 11 points, five assists and four rebounds. In the tourney finale against Buffalo the next day, the senior guard went for a career-high 26 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. He was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

Payne's efforts overshadowed those of Davis who turned in his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds against UTEP and finished with 13 points and six boards against Buffalo. Davis averaged 12.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in the tournament.

Monumental Win
USC Upstate's 58-56 win at SMU (Dec. 18) was another milestone victory for the Spartans this year. Upstate claimed its first win in the Division era against Brevard on Dec. 6. However, Brevard is a Division II member, making the SMU win the first against a Division I program this year as well as the first win over a Division I opponents in the history of the school.

Upstate has several wins over programs currently competing on the Division I level, but the wins came in the 1970s and 80s when the institutions played in the NAIA before moving to NCAA Division I membership.

Payne Reaches Milestone
Senior guard Luke Payne notched his 1,000th-point at UNC Greensboro (Nov. 24). The Spartanburg High School graduate sank a three-pointer with a little over seven minutes to play in the game to give him 12 points in the contest and 1,000 for his career. He went on to finish with 15 points in the game.

Payne became the 17th player in the history of the storied program to reach the 1,000-point milestone. He currently has 1,308 points in his career and has cracked the top 10 all-time in scoring. He has moved past Jay Free for ninth place on the all-time list as well as recently passing Darren McDuffie (11th), Todd Gambrell (12th), Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame member Mike Smith (12th), Charles Ford (14th), Terrance Gist (15th), Carlos Bryson (16th) and Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame member Willie Murdaugh (17th) on the all-time scoring list.

In addition to his scoring prowess, Payne ranks among the program's all-time leaders in 15 other statistical categories.

Playing No Gimmies
Upstate's ambitious schedule in 2007-08 certainly has no slouches on it. In fact, when you combine the win-loss records of the 17 Division I opponents the Spartans have played so far this year, the opponents are a combined 268 wins. Upstate's non-conference opponents are a combined 152-119 for a winning percentage of .561. The Spartans have played seven teams ranked in the Top 100 in the latest RPI ranking released by the NCAA, and 10 in the Top 150.

In the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll released by CollegeInsider.com, the Spartans have played two teams ranked in the poll. Akron, who gutted out a tough 64-60 victory over Upstate in the first game of the BP Top of the World Classic, is ranked 13th. IUPUI, the second-day opponent of the Spartans in the BP TOWC, is ranked 21st.

USC Upstate's current strength of schedule is ranked as the 169th toughest schedule out of 341 Division I teams by Jeff Sagarin in his daily updated strength of schedule index. The strength of schedule ranking is the tops in the Atlantic Sun. East Tennessee State is second at No. 226. Upstate's strength of schedule peaked at No. 12 as recent as the third week of January.

Upstate Road Warriors
By season's end, USC Upstate will have played 30 games with two-thirds of the games being played away from the G.B. Hodge Center. In fact, the Spartans opened the season playing their first seven games away from the friendly confines of the Hodge Center before playing its home opener against Brevard on Dec. 6. Upstate played 13 of its first 15 games on the road this season. In all, Upstate will travel more than 12,000 miles away from Spartanburg, and nearly 24,000 miles round trip, this season to play 20 games away from home.

Byrd Soars To The Top
Jeremy Byrd collected six steals in the season-opening game at Utah, surpassing Terrance Gist (276) to move atop the all-time steals list at Upstate. Byrd now has 341 picks in his stellar four-year career with the Spartans.

Byrd, from Greenville, leads the Atlantic Sun with 3.0 steals per game, nearly a full steal ahead of second place on the list. He led the Peach Belt Conference in steals the first three years of his collegiate career, recording 94 steals as a reserve his freshman campaign and 90 each as a sophomore and junior.

Hines Gives Schneiders Props
Reigning Southern Conference player of the year and UNC Greensboro standout Kyle Hines gave Upstate center Nick Schneiders praise on his blog. Hines was in the middle of recapping recent action when he talked of Schneider's thunderous dunk over him.

"USC Upstate had a 7-2 player on their team that I had to guard in the game," Hines blogged. "He was the tallest player I had played against. I faired well against him until one play in the second half, he dunked on me pretty bad. Coach (Mike) Dement showed the play like five times during our film session. I must admit it looked really bad on film. The coaches and rest of the team got a good laugh out of that one."

A-Sun Makes Some Noise
If the start if the season is any indication of how good the Atlantic Sun Conference is going to be this year, the league will be tough. Belmont, East Tennessee State, Gardner-Webb, Mercer and Upstate have pulled off impressive wins early in the season. Below is a listing of the notable wins this season by A-Sun schools.

N7--Gardner-Webb def. No. 22 Kentucky, 84-68
N9--Belmont def. Cincinnati, 86-75
N10--Mercer def. No. 18 Southern Cal, 96-81
N19--Belmont def. Alabama, 85-83
D18--USC Upstate def. SMU, 58-56
D21--East Tennessee State def. Georgia, 76-58

Greensboro Newbies Have Solid Pedigrees
When coaches bring in new recruits, they not only look for individual talent, they also look to see how well a player helps their former team and the how well the teams do in competition. Josh Chavis and Mezie Uzochukwu, both from Greensboro, N.C., come to Upstate after strong senior seasons.

Chavis, from Dudley HS, played in the North Carolina East-West All-Star game. He also spent the summer playing for the N.C. Gaters AAU team. He was the starting point guard on the team that won the AAU 19-Under National Championship. Uzochukwu, from Northeast Guilford HS, also played in the North Carolina East-West All-Star game. He finished the game with a team-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, leading the West squad to the 81-75 victory and earning MVP honors. He joined a prestigious club of East-West MVP winners, including recent honorees Kevin Swinton and William Graves, both of whom now play in the ACC.

Burrows Brings Experience To Sidelines
First-year assistant coach Bill Burrows is anything but new to the game. The veteran of the sideline has been a head coach on the high school level in North Carolina for nearly 30 years and was an assistant coach at Georgia Tech and Towson. He can tell stories of coaching greats such as Brad Daugherty and Brad Johnson, but his best quality may be his ability to tell stories that both entertain and educate.

Paul Makes Good
Former Spartan starting point guard C.J. Paul is now living the life around the NBA. No, he is not playing in the world's top league, he is serving as the personal assistant/manager for his younger brother, Chris, the former NBA Rookie of Year now in his third season with the New Orleans Hornets.

Scouting Belmont
Belmont seems poised to make a run at the regular season A-Sun championship. The Bruins are the frontrunner in the A-Sun with a 10-2 conference record and an 18-8 overall mark. Belmont started the season with a bang, defeating Cincinnati 86-75. The Bruins also claimed non-conference victories over Western Carolina, Samford, Alabama, Middle Tennessee, Fisk, Tennessee State and Murray State. Belmont took non-conference losses from Bowling Green, Austin Peay, Xavier, Middle Tennessee, Austin Peay and Wright State. The Bruins have won 10 games in the A-Sun, suffering just two losses to Campbell and Kennesaw State. Belmont is on a six game winning streak and are winners in nine of the last 10 games, including a 76-52 victory over Upstate on Jan. 19 in Nashville.

About The Team
Belmont plays a lot of players and has started several different players this season. Frankly, the starting lineup does not really matter. Seven players average over 20 minutes per game, while 10 players average more than 10 minutes per outing. Justin Hare leads the team in scoring at 15.4 ppg. He also ranks second on the team with 69 assists. Shane Dansby ranks second on the team in scoring at 14.2 ppg and tops the team with six rebounds per outing. Matthew Dotson is third on the team in scoring at 11.1 ppg. Alex Renfroe leads the team with 101 assists and 42 steals on the year.

Belmont shoots the ball well. The Bruins shoot 46.1 percent from the floor, 37.3 percent from the three-point arc and 69.9 percent from the free throw line. Belmont also averages 81.3 points per game.

About The Coach
Head coach Rick Byrd has become an institution at Belmont. He is in his 27th year as a head coach and has been at Belmont for 22 of those years. He owns a 534-302 overall record and a 442-247 mark at Belmont. He has guided Belmont to two straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.

Byrd began his head coaching career at Maryville (Tenn.) before moving to Lincoln Memorial. He left Lincoln Memorial to become Belmont's head coach. He was instrumental in the university's move from NAIA to NCAA Division I membership and also served as the school's athletic director.