Thursday, February 02, 2012

MACON, GA – USC Upstate Men’s Basketball Head Coach Eddie Payne will be the guest on the weekly Atlantic Sun Insider, featured on the Friday, Feb. 3, edition of "The Morning Show" on FOX Sports 1670 AM.

Payne is the third head coach to guest on The Insider with hosts Daniel Shirley and Charles Olson this season. His Spartans are currently in sole possession of third place in the A-Sun, riding high in the midst of the nation’s second best turnaround in Division I.

The Spartans (14-9, 7-3 A-Sun) travel to Kennesaw State to face the Owls (3-20, 0-11 A-Sun) at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, at the KSU Convocation Center. The game airs exclusively on ESPN3, with Matt Stewart and Sonny Smith on the call. The game features two of the A-Sun’s leading scorers and potential players of the year in USC Upstate’s sophomore Torrey Craig and Kennesaw State’s junior Markeith Cummings. Craig, the reigning A-Sun Player of the Week, leads the conference in scoring with 17.4 points per game and is second in rebounding (7.7 rpg), while Cummings is third in scoring (16.1 ppg) and is the A-Sun’s active career leader in scoring with 1,495 career points. The Owls’ junior Aaron Anderson also leads the A-Sun in rebounding with 9.3 boards per game.

In the teams’ contest on Jan. 7 in Spartanburg, the Spartans led by as many as 19 and defeated the Owls 68-53. Craig and Anderson posted double-doubles in the game, Craig with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Anderson added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is partnering with the local Fox Sports 1670 AM as a part of its promotional efforts of men’s and women’s basketball leading up to the 2012 General Shale Atlantic Sun Basketball Championships, Feb. 29-March 3, at the University Center on the campus of Mercer University. Included in the partnership, The Atlantic Sun Insider is a regular segment to highlight weekly A-Sun action on the Friday edition of “The Morning Show” with Daniel Shirley and Charles Olson. A schedule of radio spots will also run during the station’s local and syndicated shows, and additional coverage will include live broadcasts during the championships from the University Center on the station’s local afternoon show, “The Bill Shanks Show.”

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an NCAA Division I league with 10 member institutions committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun meets the challenge of maintaining the highest standards in academic and athletic achievement with a true balance between student and athlete. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University. Northern Kentucky University will join the A-Sun as its newest member on July 1, 2012.