Wright State University
4-3
USC Upstate
5-2
Men Win at USC Upstate
11/29/2014 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Down seven late in the first half, the Wright State men's basketball team went on a 22-4 run, including a 14-1 start to the second half, and then held on down the stretch for a 56-51 win over host USC Upstate in the final game of the Spartanburg Marriott Upstate Classic Saturday night.
Upstate jumped out to a 9-3 lead just 4:16 into the contest with six straight points and the Spartans later extended the advantage to seven on two occasions, the second being 25-18 on a Mario Blessing three with 6:09 remaining in the first half.
A Joe Thomasson layup along with a JT Yoho three and jumper, however, tied the game and started the Raiders on their 22-4 run. Fred Miller gave Upstate the lead back with a basket at the 1:42 mark and the Spartans led 28-26 at the break, but that turned out to be the only field goal for the Spartans over a 15:05 span as WSU started the second half with a 14-1 spurt, seven from Yoho and five by Thomasson, to go up 40-29 with 13:07 to play.
The Wright State margin was 48-38 on a Reggie Arceneaux jumper with 5:57 to play, only to see Upstate gradually chip away and draw to within three at 52-49 on a Miller triple at the 1:32 mark.
The Spartans, however, would get no closer as Yoho hit two foul shots at the 19.7-second mark and Thomasson sealed the win with two more at the stripe with six seconds left.
WSU shot 44 percent for the game, including 48 percent in the second half, while USC Upstate shot just 32 percent the final 20 minutes to end up at 38 percent overall. The Raiders also led 24-15 in points off of turnovers.
Yoho led Wright State with 17 points, 12 in the second half, and gathered in six rebounds while Thomasson added 11 points and five assists. Michael Karena and Chrishawn Hopkins each chipped in eight points.
Miller paced all scorers with 19 points for USC Upstate (5-2).
Wright State (4-3) concludes its six-game road swing on Tuesday, December 2, at Evansville, with the game starting at 8:00 Eastern.
