CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Colgate men's basketball team put together a 21-7 first-half run to take a nine-point halftime lead, but fell victim to a USC Upstate comeback as the Spartans earned a 71-65 win in the Holy City Hoops Classic finale Sunday afternoon.
Junior
Jordan Swopshire led the Raiders with 16 points, while classmate
Sean O'Brien followed with 12.
USC Upstate got out to a 10-3 lead four minutes into the game. The Raiders answered with nine-straight points by way of the three-pointer, two from first-year
Will Rayman and one from Swopshire, as Colgate took its first lead of the game at 12-10 with 13:42 on the clock. The Spartans rattled off 12 of the next 17 points, nine of which came from Michael Buchanan, to pull ahead 22-17 at the 8:08 mark.
Back-to-back layups from junior
Tom Rivard then sparked Colgate's 21-7 run to close the half. The streak saw baskets from six different Raiders, including seven points from Swopshire, as Colgate went 7-for-16 from the field, held Upstate to a 3-for-10 clip and forced four Spartan turnovers. The 21-7 run comprised the final eight minutes of the first half and gave the Raiders a 38-29 lead heading into the locker room.
Thirteen points from Mike Cunningham helped USC Upstate string together an 18-8 run to open the second half as the Spartans suddenly found themselves in front by one at 47-46 with the clock at 12:18. Upstate stretched its lead to 53-48 three minutes later before Rayman drained a three-pointer to pull the Raiders within two with 8:41 to play.
The Spartans extended their lead to as much as six at 64-56 with just over four minutes to play. Junior
Jordan Robertson hit a clutch jumper before draining a three-pointer to trim the Upstate lead to 64-61 with 1:58 on the clock.
Buchanan scored the next three points of the game to pad the Spartan lead, 67-61, and wind the clock down to 32 seconds. Rivard tossed in a layup on Colgate's ensuing possession, but USC Upstate went 4-for-4 from the free throw line down the stretch. Swopshire added a last-second layup, but it wasn't enough as the Spartans walked away with the 71-65 victory.
BOTTOM LINE
- USC Upstate 71, Colgate 65
WON-LOST RECORDS
- Colgate falls to 2-7 on the season.
- USC Upstate improves to 5-5.
KEY RAIDER INFO
- All 12 of O'Brien's points came by way of the three-pointer.
- Rayman scored nine points to go along with a team-best four assists.
- Sophomore Malcolm Regisford put together his second-straight double-digit rebounding effort with a team-high 10 boards.
FACTS & FIGURES
- Colgate finished the game shooting 33.8 percent (23-for-68) from the field, 38.2 percent (13-for-34) from three-point range and 75.0 percent (6-for-8) from the free throw line.
- The Spartans shot 42.2 percent (27-for-64) from the field and 30.8 percent (8-for-26) from beyond the arc.
- Colgate held a 23-18 rebound advantage at halftime, but USC Upstate finished the game with a 47-40 edge on the glass.
- The Spartans were led by Buchanan's 24 points and Cunningham's 20.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach
Matt Langel
- "USC Upstate rebounded and shot the ball really well in the second half. Our second-half performance wasn't where it needed to be and we didn't do a good job of covering their shots. We played well in the first half and were playing the way we needed to to be able to win the game, but we need to be able to finish it out."
UP NEXT
- Colgate returns home to Cotterell Court to host Binghamton Wednesday at 7 p.m.
- Mutts Gone Nuts will provide halftime entertainment at Wednesday's game.
- Ticket information and all information on both Colgate and Binghamton can be found at Game Central.
