Upstate upholds momentum in comfortable win over High Point

Mysta Goodloe brings ball up for USC Upstate as Spartans defeated High Point. (Photo by Cora Brendle/USC Upstate Athletics)

By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Coming off a big road win earlier this week over Radford, Dave Dickerson and USC Upstate aimed to maintain momentum in Big South play against High Point.

 

A kickstart from a senior got things rolling for the host Spartans, as they pulled away for a 76-57 victory over High Point, marking the third conference win for Upstate in four contests this season.

 

Freshman guard Justin Bailey tallied the first points of the game on a triple for the left wing just over a minute into the contest. A couple of moments later, a halfcourt trap led to a fast-break basket for Bailey, who had six points during a quick 11-4 Spartans run four minutes into the contest. 

 

“I thought (Justin’s) first half was good,” said Dickerson. “It’s probably his best one all year. His energy is contagious, his ability to play on and off the ball, as well as his energy to defend is really, really good.”

 

Over the next four minutes of the frame, the Spartans hit a bit of a rough patch, which resulted in some missed shots and some turnovers that resulted in a few High Point baskets, but the leadership from the Spartans players took over and helped Upstate regain its focus at the next stoppage in play.

 

“Yeah, I was a little animated (during the under-12 timeout),” Dickerson admitted. “Our seniors were more animated in the huddle. Those five guys – Mysta (Goodloe), Khy (Smith), D-3 (Dave Dickerson III), (Thomas) Shieda, and Nick (Alves) – really did a good job in the huddle of calming the team down and getting the team back to the basics of what we needed to be, which is all in, do your job, and ‘we, not me.’ When we got back to that, I thought we played pretty good basketball.”

 

One senior in particular, Mysta Goodloe, helped kickstart a 15-5 outburst over the first eight-plus minutes of the second half, which created a 52-35 advantage for Upstate at the 11:35 mark. Goodloe knocked down a pair of triples during that stretch, one of which came about in transition off an Ahmir Langlais blocked shot and Trae Broadnax assist.

 

Upstate really found a groove on the offensive end, as the Spartans knocked down 16 of their 28 tries from the floor in the second half alone and shot an even 50 percent for the game. A pair of fast-break alley-oops – one from Jordan Gainey to Khydarius Smith and another from Goodloe to Jordyn Surratt – staked the Spartans to a 19-point lead with just under six minutes remaining in regulation.

 

“We always think that we can win some games in this conference,” Dickerson stated. “Our non-conference schedule was difficult last year and was more difficult this year playing at Duke, Clemson, South Carolina, Air Force, and Florida State. We learned a lot about ourselves and we’re playing – I think – our best basketball right now.” 

 

“It’s been a good week for our program: to win on the road at Radford on Wednesday, then to come back and win at home. That’s a good week in the Big South Conference.” 

 

Gainey finished with a game-high 18 points for Upstate, followed by Bailey (12 points), Broadnax (12 points) and Goodloe (nine points). Bailey also finished a double-digit point total for the fourth conference game in a row to begin his collegiate career. 

 

Next up for Upstate (8-7, 3-1 Big South) is a midweek conference clash with Campbell on Wednesday at 7 p.m.