By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In the midst of the holiday, Saturday saw two basketball teams trying to find their own version of Christmas cheer as Youngstown State and USC Upstate closed out their 2024 calendar years at the Hodge Center.
Freshman guard Mister Dean spearheaded an Upstate rally, but a big shot in the waning moments helped the Penguins skate away from Spartanburg with a 72-64 victory.
A David Wilkerson driving layup for YSU tied the game at 21 before two Breylin Garcia free throws put Upstate back in the lead with 3:24 left in the first half. The Penguins then rattled off an 8-0 run that bridged into the second half, as Wilkerson notched a hook shot and layup, along with a Christian Kirkland basket, for a 29-23 lead with 18:12 to play.
Nico Galette drained a triple for the Penguins, but a Karmani Gregory three-point conversion pulled the Spartans within a 32-28 margin. YSU rattled off another 8-0 burst as Galette and Ty Harper each drained a three-pointer and created a 40-28 lead at the 14:22 mark.
“I thought our guys really competed today,” said USC Upstate head coach Marty Richter. “They did a really, really good job of fighting in that first half. We couldn’t make anything easy today. Some of that is on us and some of that is that Youngstown State did a good job. We’ve got to do a better job of closing out a half. Being a young team, you can’t let that happen. During that 10-minute sequence of the game, we didn’t play worth a hoot and that’s the game.”
About three minutes later, Upstate switched things up defensively and began applying a full-court trap, which put the Penguins in a panic. Over the next nine minutes, the Spartans outscored YSU, 29-13.
Garcia, Carmelo Adkins, and Chico Johnson combined for eight points, slicing the deficit to 59-49 with 4:27 to play. Dean then ripped off back-to-back thunderous one-handed jams, which brought the Spartan faithful to its feet and cut the margin to 59-53 with 3:10 left.
Dean drove in for a layup and two Andrew McConnell free throws made for a four-point YSU lead, 61-57, with 2:39 remaining. Dean spotted up and buried a triple from the right wing at the 2:07 mark, pulling Upstate within 63-60.
Shortly after that basket, Youngstown State’s EJ Farmer weaved his way through the defense and converted a three-point play, pushing the Penguin lead back to five with 1:42 to play at that juncture of the contest. YSU knocked down all six of its free throw attempts over the last 1:11 of regulation, which provided the final margin.
“We didn’t have a lot of energy,” Richter stated when asked about changing to the full-court trap. “Typically, when you press, you’ve got to bring the energy, or you get embarrassed. Our guys fought and that’s all I’m asking them to do. We’re not going to be perfect. You don’t have to be perfect to win – you have to figure out a way to win. In my job as the head coach, I’ve got to help them figure out ways to win. You don’t win pretty. You just have to figure out a way to win that night. That is why we went to the press, it was going to help us win.”
For Upstate, Dean posted a game-high 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Garcia also finished in double figures with 16 points, six rebounds, and an assist, while Gregory added nine points, five assists, and three steals. As a team, the Spartans were 15-for-19 from the free throw line, but missed 17 of 18 tries from behind the arc.
Gallette led the way for Youngstown State with 20 points, four rebounds, three steals, and two assists, while Farmer notched 11 points and six rebounds. The Penguins shot 40 percent from the floor (23-for-57) and made 20 of 25 attempts from the charity stripe.
Following the holiday break, USC Upstate (4-11) will return to action for its Big South Conference opener at Winthrop on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2025, at 4 p.m.
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