Feb. 20, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate starts its final road trip of the season Thursday, traveling to Buies Creek, N.C., Thursday night to take on Campbell. Upstate enters the game with a 6-21 overall record and a 4-9 mark in the A-Sun. The Spartans will look to snap a four-game losing streak and avenge a 66-59 loss to Campbell on Jan. 12 in Spartanburg. Campbell enters the game with a 10-15 overall record and a 5-7 mark in the league. 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 via Campbell's official athletics website at www.gocamels.com.

Recapping Belmont
Belmont used an 8-0 run to break a 50-50 tie in the second half to grab control of the game and went on for an 82-72 win over Upstate Saturday afternoon in the Hodge Center.

Luke Payne finished with 18 points and Bobby Davis and Gabor Boros each turned in 10 points, but it was not enough against the frontrunners in the A-Sun. Belmont placed five players in double figures, led by Justin Hare's 19. Shane Dansby contributed a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Keaton Belcher, Matthew Dotson and Alex Renfroe each added 10 for the Bruins.

It's A Boy!
Upstate assistant coach Steve Smith and wife Fran are the proud new parents of a bouncing baby boy, Jordan Myles Smith. Jordan weighed 6 lbs., 12 ounces at the time of birth and both baby and mother are doing well.

Recapping First Campbell Game - Jan. 12
Campbell built a 13-point lead midway through the second half and held off USC Upstate down the stretch to take a 66-59 victory in the Hodge Center. Despite clawing its way back into the game in the second half, Upstate shot itself in the foot at the free throw line. The Spartans shot just 9-of-23 from the charity stripe for the game and missed six free throws in the final nine minutes to help Campbell hold onto its lead. The Spartans did the job on the defensive end of the court, allowing the Fighting Camels to make just one field goal in the final 10:16 of the game. Campbell, though, won the game at the free throw line, converting 13-of-19 attempts in the final 9:56 alone.

Jonathan Rodriguez, who had a quiet 13 points in the first half, finished with a game-high 23 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead Campbell to the win. Bobby Davis led Upstate with 14 points and eight rebounds in the loss.

Going For 100
Upstate head coach Eddie Payne needs one more win to reach 100 at the helm of the Upstate program. In his sixth season with the Spartans, he has won 18, 14, 24, 20, 17 and 6 games. Prior to Upstate's move to Division I in 2007-08, he led the Spartans to two Peach Belt Conference titles and two appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament in five seasons.

Soaring Towards 1,000
Jeremy Byrd's biggest claim to fame is his ability to come up with the steal in a blink of an eye. He already owns the school's career record for steals, notching 344 in his career. Although he does not have the reputation as being a scorer, he needs just 38 points in the next three games to reach 1,000 for his career.

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 14.6 ppg, but Bobby Davis has joined the senior in double figures. He has raised his scoring average to 10.1 points per outing for the season.

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. 4 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 2.9 steals per game, trailing Texas-San Antonio's Devin Gibson by 0.6 spg, South Carolina's Devan Downey by 0.5 spg and Robert Morris' Tony Lee by 0.1 spg. He does lead the A-Sun in steals.

Byrd 20th All-Time In NCAA Steals Category...
Jeremy Byrd now has 344 steals in his standout career at Upstate. The 344 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 58-21 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.

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 10.9 ppg. He also averages 3.3 rebounds per outing, has dished out a team-best 43 assists and picked a team-high 32 steals in the 13 league games. He has reached double figures in nine of the 13 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 14.3 ppg, but Bobby Davis and Jeremy Byrd are close behind. Davis, who is second on the team overall with 10.1 ppg, averages 11.6 ppg, while Byrd scores at a 10.9 ppg clip.

Shaking Up The Lineup
Head Coach Eddie Payne has used 10 different starting lineups in 27 games this season. Bobby Davis is the only Spartan to start every game this season. Luke Payne has started 26 of the 27 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 1,326 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 194-148 for a winning percentage of .567. The Spartans have played eight teams ranked in the Top 100 in the latest RPI ranking released by the NCAA, and nine in the Top 150.

In the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll released by CollegeInsider.com, the Spartans have played three 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 14th. IUPUI, the second-day opponent of the Spartans in the BP TOWC, is ranked 13th. Belmont, which has claimed two wins over the Spartans this season, is ranked 21st.

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 Flies 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 344 picks in his stellar four-year career with the Spartans.

Byrd, from Greenville, leads the Atlantic Sun with 2.9 steals per game. 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 Campbell
Campbell enters today's game with a 10-15 overall record and a 5-7 mark in the conference. The Fighting Camels have dropped their last two games. Campbell went 5-8 in non-conference action, winning against Coker, Radford, Liberty, Norfolk State and Longwood and losing to Coastal Carolina, UNC Asheville, Appalachian State, South Carolina, Radford, UNC Asheville, Liberty and Longwood. The Fighting Camels have claimed wins in conference play against Belmont, Upstate, Gardner-Webb, North Florida and Kennesaw State. Campbell has lost in the league to Lipscomb, East Tennessee State, Flordia Gulf Coast, Stetson, Jacksonville and Mercer.

About The Team
Campbell has in its arsenal one of the top players in the Atlantic Sun Conference in Jonathan Rodriguez. Rodriguez averages 20.9 points per game overall and 20.1 ppg in conference play. He has led the Fighting Camels in scoring 15 times. While he is a potent scorer, he also does a lot more. He nearly averages a double-double for the season with 9.9 rebounds per outing. He ranks second on the team with 63 assists and 16 blocked shots and leads the squad with 38 steals.

In addition to Rodriguez, Reggie Bishop, Kyle Vejraska and Jake Wohlfeil average in double figures. Bishop averages 12.7 ppg, while Vejraska scores at a 10.3 ppg clip. Wohlfeil averages 10.7 ppg overall and increased that figure to 16.1 ppg in conference games.

Junard Hartley leads Campbell in assists with 105 dimes on the year. Oladapo Fagbenle tops the team with 20 blocked shots.

About The Coach
Head Coach Robbie Laing is in his fifth season at the helm of the Campbell program, his second head coaching stint of his career. He has a career record of 39-99. In 2006-07, he led the Fighting Camels to 14 wins, the program's highest win total since the 1995-96 season, and 12 home wins, which is a Carter Gym record.

Prior to his arrival at Campbell, Laing served as an assistant coach at Kansas State, Southern Miss, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia Southern, Western Kentucky and Troy State. He was also the head coach at Jones County Junior College from 1996-99.