SPARTANBURG, S.C. (USC Upstate SID) – In a game indicative of the competitive nature and parity in the Big South, USC Upstate men’s basketball and Radford saw Saturday’s game come down to the final possession as the Spartans’ second-half comeback fell just short as the Highlanders knocked down a three with four seconds to play to claim a 55-52 victory.

Trailing by 10 at the half, Upstate battled back tying the game with 33 seconds to play as senior guard Mysta Goodloe found redshirt junior forward Ahmir Langlais at the rim with an inbound pass with 4.3 seconds remaining on the shot clock. The duo of Goodloe and Langlais combined to score 20 points in the second half, leading the Spartans back from their halftime deficit.

Goodloe paced Upstate with 12 points—all in the second half—adding five rebounds and three assists on the afternoon. Sophomore guard Jordan Gainey joined Goodloe in double-figures with 10 points while freshman guard Justin Bailey and Langlais contributed eight points apiece.

Game Information
Score: Radford 55; USC Upstate 52
Records: USC Upstate (9-12; 4-6 Big South); Radford (14-9; 8-2)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.

How It Happened
First Half

  • Taking the opening tip, Radford wasted no time getting on the board using a three on its opening possession to begin the scoring. The Spartans answered with a three from Jordyn Surratt before a jumper and a free throw gave the Highlanders a slight 6-3 advantage at the first media.
  • Using its longest scoring run of the game, Upstate battled back to take the lead at the under-12 media stoppage with a 7-0 scoring run. Khydarius Smith started the streak with a hook shot before Justin Bailey dropped a layup and three to wrap the run.
  • Trailing by four, the Highlanders embarked on a 12-2 scoring stretch, including its longest scoring streak of the game, ending the stretch with an 8-0 run. Radford benefitted from its trips to the charity stripe in the stretch, making each of its eight attempts.
  • Closing out the half and building up its halftime advantage to 10 points, Radford outpaced the Spartans 9-5 over the final six-plus minutes of the half. Trae Broadnax and Surratt scored three and two points, respectively, for the Spartans to keep the lead from growing.

Second Half

  • Coming out of the locker room and despite seeing the lead grow to its largest at 11 points, Upstate began the comeback trail, scoring eight of the first 11 points of the second half. Jordan Gainey scored the first four points for the Spartans with Ahmir Langlias and Mysta Goodloe adding the others.
  • Fighting their way to take the lead for the first time in the second half, the Spartans followed the free throw make that snapped the team’s 8-3 run to open the half with a 10-3 scoring stretch to take the lead 35-34 with 11:45 to play in the half. Goodloe led the stretch with eight points, including a pair of threes.
  • Countering the Spartans’ scoring stretch with one of its own, Radford regained the lead with a 14-7 scoring run to grow the lead back to six points. Setting up the final five minutes of the game, the Highlander run forced an Upstate full timeout that saw the Spartans come out scoring four straight points to cut the deficit to two with three-and-a-half minutes to play.
  • Seeing Radford hold a four-point advantage into the final two minutes of play, Upstate scored back-to-back baskets to tie the game with 33 seconds to play, including a layup from Langlais off an inbound with 4.3 seconds remaining on the shot clock to tie the game. Working the clock to ensure the final shot attempt, the Highlanders knocked down a three for the win with 4 seconds to play.

Notable

  • Coming off the team’s lowest block total of the season (one) versus Gardner-Webb, Upstate secured its eighth game with four or more blocks during Big South play with seven Saturday against Radford. Nick Alves led the Spartans with a career-high four blocks.
  • Leading the Spartans with 12 points Saturday, Mysta Goodloe has scored in double figures in consecutive games for the first time in his career with the game against Radford marking his sixth double-figure scoring game of the year. Wednesday and Saturday’s games mark just the second time in his career that Goodloe has scored in double-figures in consecutive games.
  • For the second straight game, Jordyn Surratt opened Upstate’s scoring with a make from beyond the arc, extending the Spartans’ streak of games with a made three to 861 games, dating to the 1994-95 season. The streak includes each of the program’s 494 games at the NCAA Division I level (2007-pres.).

Up Next for the Spartans
With the season now into the rematch portion of the Big South schedule, the Spartans hit the road to start the month of February, taking a trip to Campbell. Upstate looks to avenge an earlier season defeat with a 7 p.m. ET tip-off from Buies Creek.