Jason: Another CIT thriller inside the Hodge Center. This time, the Upstate Spartans come away with a one point
victory, 73-72 the final over the James Madison Dukes. Phil, you look back at this game, we saw the lead change
hands 12 times, we were tied on eight separate occasions, those numbers are an indication of a back
and forth affair that kept the fans in the Hodge Center on the edge of their seats right up to the buzzer.
Phil: A lot of threes as well...just a perimeter onslaught from beyond the arc. James Madison able to throw in 14
threes, but just one point short. Looked like for a moment the Dukes had this one with a healthy lead
late in the game but give Upstate credit. Just a furious comeback and a big defensive stop late to win the game.
Jason: Let's take a look back at the highlights from this contest. You're going to see a whole lot of Ty Greene, we'll
give you his numbers in just a moment. The A-Sun Player of the Year came to life, especially when necessary
down the stretch in the second half and our highlights package begins with him.
Phil: Fred Miller as well. 18 points, hit some big shots from beyond the arc as well, but it was Greene pouring in
26 tonight, the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, including six threes and he needed every last one of them as the
Dukes, as we've said, put up a valiant, valiant effort on the road as James Madison's season ends.
Jason: We mentioned two of the seniors in Greene and Miller who you're seeing a great deal of, it was Mario Blessing's
defensive play at the end that really helped the Spartans stand strong and that defensive stop giving them the one
point victory. It was a hard-fought battle inside, you called it Phil, a lot of the shots out on the perimeter and
that really made the difference in this basketball game for Upstate the way they were able to hit some shots outside
late in the contest and then stand strong on the defensive side of the basketball. Let's look at the numbers
from this one, the big number at the top we've already given you, 73-72, but what else on this stat sheet,
besides the three-point field goal percentage jumps out at you?
Phil: Well, one of the reasons JMU almost won this game is they forced 13 turnovers and got 22 points
off those turnovers. One stat that doesn't show up as you see Upstate with that rebounding edge, 36-30,
a lot of that came late in getting some stops and the stat sheet often tells you a lot, you see the three-point shooting
as JMU shoots 52 percent but, the terrible cliche, the only stat that matters, Upstate with one more than JMU tonight.
Jason: We said it, we knew one of these two teams are going to have their season come to a close and tragedy for
either, Upstate does survive and move forward. We talked about Ty Greene's performance in making that a
reality, he led the way for the Spartans with 26 and Jackson Kent. What can you say about how hot he was
out of the gate, and the difference he made throughout. He led the Dukes with 19, but Greene leads all scorers with
26, you see the rest of his numbers as well.
Phil: Yeah Kent, a lot of his points coming in the first half, but did hit some big shots late and of course Greene
with the 26 points and the four assists. It was not a sloppy basketball game by any stretch, not that we really
maybe expected that but, not really any sloppy stretches for either team, some good defense. A lot of zone, a lot of threes
and a heck of a finish here in Spartanburg.
Jason: Eddie Payne and a couple of his seniors visited with the media after this one, here are their thoughts.
Payne: All in all, it's a terrific win. Really a win of perseverance.
Greene: The adjustment we had to make was the shot clock was 30 seconds.
And it doesn't seem like a lot but it is a little bit different, you know, you've just started and you look up and you're like ok
there's 10 seconds we got to go do something and I just tried to find a little room and throw it up there like I always do.
A couple of them fell late for us so it was a big win for us.
When they made their runs, we stayed poised. Coaches, they called some timeouts in good situations, got us
in the right sets and plays and we responded by making plays and, like I said, we stayed poised down the stretch,
you know, you can't panic in those situations and at the end of the day, we played just one more play than they did.
Miller: Yeah he just got open after he dove to the basket and I just saw him so it was a little quick-hitter.
Payne: Yeah I mean they were, they were kind of in a scramble. They were chasing us a little bit and they got
lost on the weak side, that was good vision. Fred has good vision about things like that and that was a big play
obviously.
Miller: I believe Ty started the energy. He talked to everybody in the huddle that me, Ty and Mario, we don't
want this to be our last game, so everybody put all their energy into the last four minutes and it's just what we
worked for all throughout the practices and everyday, so we didn't want to lost so we had to put a lot of energy into it
Payne: I think it's been very significant for us. I mean, we've only been eligible to play in postseason for four years.
Alright so three of those years, we've gone to postseason. So that's a significant thing. It gives the
mid-major programs a chance to extend their season and you do it against good teams. Like I said, these guys
tied for first in the Colonial so they're a good, quality team. But it also gives us a sense of....success, a sense of
we're still working. We're playing in a tournament, we're not just playing games, we're in a tournament and
our goal is to win them all. We got to play better and all that kind of stuff but that's what we're playing for.
That's a little bit different I think. As players, they probably agree with that. I think it's different when you're playing
in a tournament and I think that experience that these players have helps them.....
It won't help these guys, it will wherever they're going and they're going to play somewhere but,
it helps our returning players and helps those guys on the bench that don't get to play. They get to experience
and see it and it's a standard that our program has now. That's what we're playing for.
Greene: A lot of the talk I've seen is about the CBI Tournament. I think the CIT's done a much better job
in the last couple years than the CBI has but, to us, obviously your goal as a mid-major is to make the
NCAA tournament but you can have a great year, and not go to the tournament. This is your reward for a great year.
Generally, these are all top three teams in their league and it's good basketball, there's really good players I mean,
you're playing upper-level competition and a lot of these teams were either right there, going to the NCAA
tournament like we were, but this is a reward for us, to be able to play in front of our fans which is a huge deal to all of us
you know, just to give the fans the reward as well for coming and supporting, so the CIT, it's a big deal and I
think they have a really good field this year and we're happy to advance.
When the fans do get loud and get going and get behind you, it gives you energy I mean you can feel it. When your
legs are a little gassed, I mean you literally feel it. You're like, ok we got some people behind us, lets do this and it's
it's a small thing but when they get going, it really does make a difference and I think most people would say that's why
having a home game, especially in the postseason, is huge.
Jason: So the Spartans, who drop a thriller in the CIT on this floor a year ago, respond with a clutch finish
defensively. They win, they survive, they advance, and now we look at some of the scores from around the CIT
to give you a sense of whole else has survived the first round of this tournament. We remind you, as you look at these
scores, the CIT uses an old NIT type format in which they re-seed geographically after the finish of each round.
So once all the first round games are done on Thursday, the teams that remain will be paired up based upon geography,
here's what's happened elsewhere around the country tonight as you can see, Eastern Kentucky surviving,
Eastern Illinois advancing, Lafayette leading the way, the Ragin Cajuns with some control late in the second half,
and Bowling Green, winning a thriller over St. Francis of Pennsylvania.
Phil: And these are not the only games of this tournament. Of course, Florida Gulf Coast, an A-Sun
team still has yet to play in this tournament, but you see the four other games, three of them going final, still
awaiting to see who Upstate will play later on this week or weekend.
Jason: And you'll want to keep an eye on upstatespartans.com as well as the CIT Tournament
website, to find out what those second round pairings will be. Again, first round games will be going on through
Thursday and we expect either Friday or Saturday, the Spartans will play again as their season continues.
How do you put a wrap on this one, what are your final thoughts?
Phil: Well, a lot of times you come into a first-round CIT game and you don't really know what to expect. You don't
know how the teams are going to come out and both teams came out and played not only extremely hard, but
extremely well. They gave good effort and they executed well. I think both coaches have to be very proud of their
effort. Not a lot of times does a team come on the road, make 14 threes and get beat, Eddie Payne mentioned that
in his press conference so, give all the credit to JMU but Upstate with some big, big, big plays down the stretch, and
they've got at least one more in them Jason.
Jason: Another postseason thriller inside the Hodge Center. Upstate comes away victorious, a one point win for the Spartans,
the season rolls on. We'll look forward to visiting with you again in the second round of the CIT. Once again,
our final on this night in Spartanburg, 73-72 Upstate over James Madison.
