SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Interstat) — Isaiah Skinner scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds Saturday to help South Carolina Upstate edge Presbyterian 76-74 in a Big South Conference men’s basketball game at G.B. Hodge Center. The Spartans led 47-34 at halftime but had to withstand a second-half rally from the Blue Hose. Carl Parrish led all scorers with 20 points for Presbyterian. Karmani Gregory added 20 points for South Carolina Upstate. Presbyterian, which fell to 14-15, had a chance to tie in the final seconds but could not convert. South Carolina Upstate improved to 12-17. An announced crowd of 419 watched the game.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Interstat) — In a game defined by a dominant first half and a frantic, desperate comeback, Isaiah Skinner’s tip-in with 10 seconds left proved the decisive basket as South Carolina Upstate survived a second-half collapse to edge Presbyterian 76-74 in a Big South Conference men’s basketball thriller on Saturday at the G.B. Hodge Center. The Spartans, who led by as many as 18 points in the first half and took a 47-34 advantage into the break, watched that cushion evaporate completely under a relentless Blue Hose second-half assault. Presbyterian finally drew even and then took its first lead of the game at 66-64 on a Jaylen Peterson hook shot with 8:59 remaining, setting the stage for a tense final stretch featuring eight lead changes and three ties. The most important sequence came in the final 30 seconds. With the score knotted at 74, South Carolina Upstate’s Carmelo Adkins drove the lane but missed a layup. The 7-foot-1 Coen Collier grabbed the offensive rebound and missed a tip-in, but Skinner, hovering near the rim, grabbed the second chance and softly put it back up and in for a 76-74 lead with just 10 ticks on the clock. Presbyterian called timeout and advanced the ball, setting up a play for leading scorer Carl Parrish. The guard from Miami Gardens, Florida, got a clean look from beyond the arc, but his three-point attempt for the win rattled out. Josh Pickett secured the offensive rebound for the Blue Hose and kicked it back out to Parrish, who connected on a three-pointer, but officials ruled his foot was on the line after a coach’s challenge, confirming the shot as a two-pointer and leaving the score tied at 76. On the ensuing inbounds play, Presbyterian’s Triston Wilson was fouled with 0.6 seconds left. He missed the front end of a one-and-one, Mason Bendinger secured the rebound for Upstate, and time expired. The game was a tale of two contrasting halves. South Carolina Upstate (12-17, Big South) blitzed the Blue Hose early, shooting 57.6% from the field in the first period and capitalizing on 10 Presbyterian turnovers to build its large lead. Skinner, a 6-foot-6 guard from Hemet, California, was instrumental, scoring 11 of his team-high 14 points before halftime and adding seven rebounds and three assists for the game. Presbyterian (14-15), meanwhile, was ice-cold early but found its rhythm after intermission. The Blue Hose tightened their defense, holding the Spartans to 29 second-half points on 34.5% shooting, and began to chip away methodically. Parrish led all scorers with 20 points, including four three-pointers, while Jonah Pierce added 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Peterson contributed 14 points and six rebounds off the bench. The Spartans’ offense, so fluid in the first half, stagnated after the break, managing only four assists as a team compared to Presbyterian’s seven. The Blue Hose also won the turnover battle, committing seven to Upstate’s 11, which helped fuel their comeback. Despite the loss, Presbyterian’s second-half rally underscored their resilience, erasing a deficit that had reached 13 at halftime. South Carolina Upstate, however, did just enough to snap a three-game losing streak, with key contributions beyond Skinner. Adkins finished with 16 points and five rebounds, while Karmani Gregory also scored 20 points. Collier anchored the defense with nine rebounds and four blocks. The victory improved South Carolina Upstate’s home record and provided a measure of revenge for a 86-77 loss at Presbyterian on Jan. 3. The Blue Hose, who had won two straight coming in, saw their hopes for a winning regular season record dented but remain in the thick of the conference standings. National Statistical’s ELO system had given Presbyterian a 55.2% probability to win, and the Blue Hose had been installed as a one-point pregame favorite. The total score of 150 sailed over the over/under line of 139.5, largely due to the explosive first-half scoring. An announced crowd of 419 at the Hodge Center witnessed the dramatic finish. South Carolina Upstate travels to face Radford on Thursday, while Presbyterian returns home to host High Point the same night.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Interstat) — A pair of Big South Conference men’s basketball teams looking to build momentum for the league tournament will meet Saturday when the Presbyterian Blue Hose visit the South Carolina Upstate Spartans at the G.B. Hodge Center. Presbyterian (14-14) enters on a two-game winning streak, including a 72-65 home victory over Longwood on Thursday. The Spartans (11-17) seek to halt a three-game skid after a close 68-64 loss at Winthrop the same night. The Blue Hose, sitting at .500, are led by guard Triston Wilson, who is coming off a dominant 28-point performance against Longwood. Over his last seven games, Wilson has averaged 16 points and 4.6 assists, including a 19-point, 11-assist effort in a double-overtime loss to Radford on Jan. 31. South Carolina Upstate will counter with guard Carmelo Adkins, who scored 21 points in the loss to Winthrop. Adkins has been a consistent offensive force, averaging 16 points per game over his last seven contests. He tallied 20 points in an overtime win over Charleston Southern on Feb. 7. The teams last met on Jan. 3 in Clinton, S.C., where Presbyterian secured an 86-77 victory. The Blue Hose have found recent success in tight games, winning their last two outings by a combined eight points. For the Spartans, protecting home court is critical as they try to improve their conference standing. They are 7-6 at the Hodge Center this season, including a 65-60 win over Longwood in late January. Saturday’s matchup will feature two of the Big South’s top scorers in Wilson and Adkins, whose backcourt play could decide a game with significant seeding implications for the upcoming conference tournament.