Nov. 29, 2007

Upstate vs. Wake Forest Game Notes in PDF Format

COACH PAYNE PLAYER PHOTO GALLERY

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - USC Upstate plays its final road game in the seven-game road swing to open the 2007-08 season Saturday at Wake Forest in a 1:00 p.m. tip-off at Joel Coliseum. The Spartans and Wake have never played each other in a regular season game, though the teams did meet in 2004 in an exhibition game won by Wake, 103-57. Upstate enters the game with an 0-6 record, while Wake comes into the contest undefeated with a 4-0 record. The game can be heard live in the Spartanburg area on ESPN 1400 AM on the internet at www.upstatespartans.com and www.espn1400am.com. Live statistical updates are available online at www.upstatespartans.com using Gametracker.

Recapping Cincinnati
USC Upstate held the lead for most of the first half, leading by three on four different occasions, before Cincinnati used a 10-0 run late in the half to open a 30-25 lead at halftime. The Bearcats scored the first five points of the second half to open a 35-25 lead before Upstate cut the lead to seven points on a Luke Payne three-pointer. However, Cincinnati answered with a 13-0 run to open a 58-38 lead and cruised to the win.

Payne was the only Spartan to finish in double figures, pouring in a game-high tying 19 points. Bobby Davis added a solid eight points, seven rebounds and three assists despite having to sit most of the first half with foul trouble.

Deonta Vaughn finished with 19 points and nine assists to lead Cincinnati. Adam Hrycaniuk finished with a double-double, tallying 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Payne Takes On Alma Mater
When USC Upstate takes on Wake Forest Saturday, head coach Eddie Payne will be coaching against a team he once played for in the 1970's. Payne was the team captain, along with Willie Griffin, in 1972-73 and was the team's Most Valuable Player in 1973.

Payne played in 59 games in his three-year career with Wake. He averaged 11.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 79.5 percent from the free throw line.

Payne helped lead the team to 54-52 overtime victory over North Carolina in the 1973 ACC Tournament.

Wake In 2004
USC Upstate and Wake Forest played an exhibition game on No. 4, 2004, pitting brothers C.J. (Upstate) and Chris (Wake) Paul against each other. Two current Spartans, Luke Payne and Jeremy Byrd, were freshmen on the 2004-05 team. Payne finished with 10 points and two steals, while Byrd tallied six points, five steals and two assists in the 103-57 loss to the Deacs.

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 open 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 will play 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.

Payne Reaches Milestone
Senior guard Luke Payne notched his 1,000th-point last Saturday night at UNC Greensboro. 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 and 1,000 for his career. He went on to finish with 15 points in the game and now has 1,003. He became the 17th player in the history of the storied program to reach the milestone.

In addition to his scoring prowess, Payne ranks among the program's all-time leaders in 12 other statistical categories.

Payne currently leads the Spartans in scoring at 14.8 points per game and is the lone Spartan to average in double figures this season.

Spartans In The A-Sun
Several USC Upstate players rank among the leaders in the latest A-Sun statistical release. Luke Payne ranks 10th in scoring at 14.8 ppg, while Bobby Davis cracks the Top 10 at sixth in rebounding with 7.3 rpg. Davis is also tied for fourth with 6.0 defensive rebounds per outing, while Payne ranks 10th in free throw percentage and fourth in three-pointers per game. Nick Schneiders ranks third with 3.0 offensive rebounds per game and 11th in blocked shots.

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. Gardner-Webb, Mercer and Belmont pulled off impressive victories early in the season.

Gardner-Webb, behind the 15 points and eight rebounds from Aaron Linn, defeated then-No. 22 Kentucky, 84-68. Mercer claimed a 96-81 victory over then-No. 18 Southern Cal. James Florence led the way with 30 points.

The two wins over nationally-ranked opponents marked the first time in the 30-year history of the league that conference teams defeated more than one nationally-ranked opponent in the same week. It is also the first time in four years that an A-Sun team has defeated a Top 25 ranked opponent.

In addition to the Kentucky and Southern Cal wins, Belmont claimed an 86-75 win over Cincinnati and an 85-83 win over Alabama.

Payne Receives 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.

Double Foul Trouble
If there is a knock on the development of junior forward Bobby Davis or sophomore center Nick Schneiders, it's that they have been unable to stay on the court for extended periods of time because of foul trouble. Both have missed key minutes in four of the six games they have played and their production would surely increase with added minutes on the floor. Still, the two turn in solid averages with Davis averaging 8.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and Schneiders turning in 6.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per outing this season.

Newcomers Making It Happen
With nine newcomers and only four players returning with extensive experience from last year's team, it is no surprise that the new players have made significant impacts on the team.

Luke Payne, Jeremy Byrd and Nick Schneiders all start for the Spartans and they are the only returnees to see significant action for the Spartans this season. The other two starting positions, as well as the bench support, have come from the new players on the roster, led by Bobby Davis' 8.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg averages.

Freshmen Rashawn Brailsford and Rory Spencer are the first players off the bench for Upstate.

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 Wake Forest
Wake Forest stands 4-0 on the year and will play against Charlotte at Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday night prior to Saturday's game against Upstate.

Wake opened the season with three straight home games. The season started with an 85-60 victory over Fairfield on Nov. 9. Ten days later, the Demon Deacons took a 75-58 win over North Carolina Central on Nov. 19. Wake defeated Winston-Salem State, 75-53, on Nov. 23. The Demon Deacons traveled to Iowa City, Iowa, to face Iowa in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Nov. 26 and claimed a 56-47 victory over the Hawkeyes.

About The Team
Wake Forest is a young team with no seniors and five juniors. Eight of the 13 players on the roster are underclassmen.

The Demon Deacons average 72.2 points per contest and have out-scored their opponents by 17.7 points per game. Wake is shooting 42.5 percent from the floor, but has struggled to date from the three-point arc, hitting just 28.0 percent from long range.

Wake is strong on defense, having forced opponents into 93 turnovers through four games this season. The Deacs have come up with 44 steals on the year. Opponents are shooting just 36.1 percent from the floor against Wake this season.

L.D. Williams, a sophomore from Yadkinville, N.C., leads the team in scoring at 12.5 ppg and rebounding at 6.8 rpg. James Johnson, a freshman from Cheyene, Wyo., also averages in double figures at 11.8 ppg. Williams and Johnson are the only players to average in double figures, though three other players average a little over nine per game.

Ishmael Smith leads the team with 16 assists, while Jeff Teague has tallied 13 steals and averages 9.8 points per game.

About The Coach
Head Coach Dino Gaudio is in his first season as head coach at Wake Forest. Gaudio was associate head coach at Wake for six seasons prior to taking the head job after the tragic death of head coach Skip Prosser last summer. A 1981 graduate of Ohio University, Gaudio has served as a head coach prior to assuming the role at Wake. He was at the helm of the Army program from 1994-97 and at Loyola (Md.) from 1998-2000.