By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After opening the campaign with a two-game trek against Southeastern Conference foes South Carolina and Vanderbilt last week, USC Upstate opened the home portion of its schedule on Sunday afternoon, hosting Carolina University of the NCCAA.
The contest also marked a return to the court for one Spartan in particular, as Upstate pulled away for 106-48 victory over the Bruins.
Justin Bailey scored five of the first nine points for the host Spartans over the first 2:14 of the game, notching a pair of fast break layups and a 3-pointer off an assist from Jorge Ochoa. The sophomore guard later added five more points in the opening half.
Nick Alves hit a driving layup through traffic and later knocked down a turnaround jumper with less than two minutes to play in the half. During the second stanza, Alves knocked down a pair of triples off assists from Bailey and Eduardo Placer, respectively.
“We’re going to learn how tough we are,” said Upstate head coach Dave Dickerson. “For us, we’re trying to play a full 40 minutes. At Vanderbilt, we were up by four at half and should’ve been up by 11. We played 20 minutes of really good basketball…
We’re going to create a situation where our mind’s right (and) game’s right to where we can play 40 minutes of good basketball, no matter where we are.”
At the first media timeout, Jalen Breazeale took the court for the first time since March 21, 2022, when Upstate competed in The Basketball Classic postseason tournament. The redshirt sophomore settled in quickly by knocking down his first shot attempt, a three at the 13:54 mark.
What was that moment like for the Roebuck, South Carolina native to finally return from an injury that erased his 2022-23 season?
“There was a little bit of nerves for sure and a lot of excitement,” Breazeale said with a grin. “There was a lot of anticipation, but once I got out there, it felt just like a normal day on the floor. There were a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but going through every day got me to the point I’m at right now. It felt amazing to say the least, but it’s the first of many and we’re going to keep going from here.”
“I’m not these kids’ parents, but I felt like a proud father seeing (Jalen) walk out there,” exclaimed Dickerson. “Most importantly, when I walked in this morning at shootaround, he was nervous. When gametime came and the adrenaline started going, he was like, ‘I’m ready to go.’ Getting him back into the flow of this team is going to be big for us because of his energy, brain – he’s so smart – and then his toughness is unmatched. He’s the toughest guy in our program, and we need him on the floor.”
Thomas Sheida came off the bench in the second half for Upstate and scored 10 points over a three-minute, 45-second span. Ahmir Langlais also poured in nine points in the frame, which included a thunderous two-handed jam off an Alves assist.
Five Spartans finished in double figures, as three – Bailey, Alves, and Langlais – scored 14 points apiece, while Breazeale and Sheida each tallied 10 points. Jorge Ochoa – a Vermont transfer – also notched nine points and eight rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double for Upstate.
“We’ve got some capable scorers,” Dickerson remarked. “The biggest thing we did tonight was that we had 23 assists on 38 field goals. We also got 19 steals, so we’re the kind of team where we’ve got to put our hat on the fact that we defend at a high level with our length and athleticism to where we’ve got to make those things work for us.”
As a team, Upstate made 38 of 63 attempts from the field, while making 13 of 29 tries from behind the arc. The Spartans also recorded 47 points off the bench.
Next up for USC Upstate (1-2) is a three-game road trip that begins at East Carolina (Nov. 15), followed by trips to Minnesota (Nov. 18) and Ball State (Nov. 21).
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.