Jan. 25, 2008

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Coming out of a timeout, Jeremy Byrd drove the length of the floor and down the left side of the lane, converting a layup and the ensuing free throw with 17 seconds left to lift USC Upstate to a thrilling come from behind 53-52 victory over North Florida Friday night in the UNF Arena.

Upstate improves to 4-16 overall and 2-4 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The win is the first A-Sun road victory for the Spartans in the history of the program. Upstate is in its first season as a member of the A-Sun and NCAA Division I. North Florida falls to 1-17 overall and 0-6 in the league.

"I feel like we stole this one," said Upstate head coach Eddie Payne. "We didn't play particularly well. But, the guys fought hard and made plays in a timely fashion."

Upstate nearly shot itself in the foot with poor shooting from the field and the free throw line. The Spartans made just 17-of-49 shots from the field (34.7%) and missed 12 free throws on the night. However, Upstate made up for it with strong defense and clutch free throw shooting in the waning moments of the game.

North Florida made 41.9 percent of their shots in the first half. Upstate, though, made some adjustments at the half that paid off.

"We really made tow adjustments in the second half," said Payne. "First, we changed the way we guarded the ball defensively. And, we know North Florida fouls, so we wanted to get to the free throw line."

At one point in the second half, Upstate was just 9-of-21 from the free throw line. That, in part, allowed North Florida to hold a 48-43 lead with 4:4 to play. Upstate continued to battle and used a 5-0 run to tie the game. Rashawn Brailsford made a key three-pointer, his only basket of the game, and Luke Payne converted two free throws to knot the game at 48-48 with 2:05 to play.

Stan Januska answered for North Florida, hitting a contested three-pointer from the corner to give the Ospreys a 51-48 lead with 1:38 remaining. After a timeout, Rory Spencer hit a turnaround jumper to get Upstate within one with 1:19 to go.

After Payne missed a layup, North Florida's James Grimball made 1-of-2 free throws to give North Florida a 52-50 lead with 25 seconds to play, setting up Byrd's game-winning basket eight seconds later. Byrd's free throw was the eighth-straight free throw made by the Spartans to close the game after starting the game 9-of-21.

Upstate struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just 33 percent from the field and the three-point arc. North Florida, which didn't tear it up from the field, hitting just 41 percent of their shots from the floor, capitalized midway through the half. Upstate held a 14-13 lead with 10:55 to play before halftime. North Florida rattled off seven straight points to open a 20-14 lead.

Upstate battled back to get within two, 20-18, with 5:36 to go, but North Florida again made a push to widen the lead. The Ospreys outscored the Spartans 9-3 the rest of the half to take a 29-23 lead at the break.

Upstate shot just 33 percent from the floor, hitting just 9-of-27 shots. The Spartans were also just 4-of-8 from the free throw line. Upstate was led in the half by Payne with nine points.

North Florida shot 41 percent from the floor in the first half, hitting 13-of-31 shots. The Ospreys were 3-of-9 from behind the three-point arc. Tom Hammonds led the Ospreys with 10 points.

After falling behind by seven, Upstate battled back to take a 33-32 lead on a Payne layup with 14:16 to play in the game. The Spartans used a 6-0 run and outscored the Ospreys 10-2 after Upstate took the seven-point lead.

Despite struggling from the free throw line for the game, Upstate extended the lead to three points, 36-33, with 12:16 to play on a free throw from Bobby Davis and a pair of tosses from Byrd.

North Florida answered with an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to open a 44-38 lead with 8:01 to play, setting up the thrilling final seven minutes.

Upstate held North Florida to 30 percent shooting in the second half.

"We hung in and made some defensive stops," said Payne. "I am proud of our youngsters and how they stepped up."

Payne led Upstate with a game-high 18 points to go along with four rebounds and three steals. Byrd finished with 11 points and three steals.

Hammonds led North Florida with 15 points. Grimball added a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Januska added 14 points and six boards.