Friday, January 15, 2010

The Atlantic Sun / CSS Game of the Week series makes its first ever trip to Spartanburg, S.C. as USC Upstate hosts Mercer. The Spartans must try to end a nine-game losing streak while Mercer seeks to build on a four-game win streak.

When the two met at the Hodge Center last February, Bobby Davis (33 pts, 11 rebs) out-dueled James Florence (38 pts) and the Spartans rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final 3:32 to force overtime and ultimately claim a 93-90 win in double overtime. The contest features the league’s top scorer (Florence), top rebounder (Daniel Emerson) and top shot blocker (Nick Schneiders).

Since joining the Bears in 2008, Emerson has turned into a rebounding machine. He ranks fourth in the NCAA over this two-year span in rebounding, averaging an even 11.0 per game. A year ago, Emerson averaged 10.7 RPG and if he maintains his average of 11.5 RPG, or merely keeps in double figures, he will become only fourth player in league history to average double-digit rebounding averages in consecutive seasons.

USC Upstate and Josh Chavis lead the team and individual rankings in 3-point shooting conference games. The Spartans have hit on an even 41.0 percent from the arc in their six A-Sun games. Chavis has connected on 22 of this 38 3-point tries to boost the team rankings, good for a 57.9 percentage.

Prior to tonight’s game, the first and only game televised from the Hodge Center occurred in 1998 for NCAA Division II Tournament game between Upstate and Virginia Union, a game televised on local television in Richmond, Va. In addition to the game, Upstate will honor Mrs. Dodie Anderson with the Chancellor’s Council Distinguished Gold Dome Award for her generous support of Upstate Athletics, including her recent $4 million gift to renovate the Hodge Center.

Matt Stewart and Sonny Smith will be on the call. Cox cable subscribers can catch the game later Friday, airing on same-day delay at 10:00 p.m. In central Florida, Bright House Sports Network will carry the game on tape delay at noon on Monday. For those outside these markets, catch all the action on ASun.TV, ESPN360.com or on ESPN Full Court.