SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Ike Smith beat the shot clock with a turnaround jumper, and
Tookie Brown hit two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to seal the win as Georgia Southern posted an 84-80 men's basketball victory over USC Upstate in the Palmetto State Shootout in the Hodge Center Friday night.
Smith broke a 78-78 tie by hitting two free throws with 59 seconds left after he was fouled attempting a jumper. The Eagles got a defensive stop and ran the shot clock all the way down. Smith drove and spun left kissing the ball off the glass and in as the shot-clock horn sounded. The officials reviewed it and called the bucket good to give the Eagles an 82-78 cushion with 9.3 seconds remaining.
USC Upstate's Mike Cunningham drove to the hoop for a layup with 3.5 seconds left, and Georgia Southern inbounded to Brown, who was fouled. The freshman calmly sank two from the charity stripe to seal the win.
Jake Allsmiller came off the bench to lead the Eagles (2-3) with 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting from 3-point range, and Smith finished with 17 points. Brown tallied 16 points and four assists, and
Devonte Boykins chipped in 10 points and three assists.
Deion Holmes scored 22 points to lead USC Upstate (0-6), and Josh Cuthbertson collected 14 points, six assists and five rebounds. Jacob Schulte and Jure Span each scored 11 points, and Cunningham finished with 10 points and three assists.
The storyThe game featured 16 lead changes and 12 ties, and the largest lead of the game was eight points by the Eagles at 30-22 midway through the first half. The teams combined to shoot 55 percent from the field in the first half and combined to make 25 of 51 from 3-point range in the contest. The Eagles executed on both ends of the floor down the stretch, and a
Montae Glenn layup out of a GS timeout gave Georgia Southern a 76-73 cushion with 3:11 to go. Cunningham tied the score with a triple on the other end, but
Mike Hughes answered with two free throws for the Eagles. Hughes missed a jumper but followed his shot, retrieved the rebound and was fouled going up for the putback. The Eagles got a turnover but could not convert on the offensive end, and Cuthbertson tied the score 78-78 with a jumper with 1:31 remaining. The Eagles held Holmes to four points in the second half after the freshman netted 18 in the first frame.
Quotable from Coach Mark ByingtonOn Tookie's free throws"He got fouled, and I told him that I had 100 percent confidence in him. He wasn't scared of the moment, and a lot of our freshmen weren't scared of the moment."
On the game"It was a much-needed win. We needed it to feel good about ourselves and to get the guys to understand that they are getting better. Sometimes they need to justify that with wins and losses, and they did that with a win."
On Upstate's hot first half"The first half was ridiculous. They were 8 for 11 from 3 – that's 72 percent – that's tough to do with no defense, with nobody out there. I just told the guys that we have to stay the course. The zone helped us in the second half and took them out of their rhythm, and we switched some other things up and held them to 39 percent in the second half."
On Jake's coming off the bench"Jake is a very high character kid. Jake has started 20-some games in a row, and some guys would pout, but Jake got motivated. He showed leadership and when he came in, he gave us a huge boost. He spread their defense out, and he was aggressive."
Next upGeorgia Southern plays host to Bob Jones in Hanner Fieldhouse Monday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m.
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