Story courtesy of Kent State Sports Information
USC Upstate 73, Kent State 58
Boxscore
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Kent State (21-12) ended its 2011-12 season with a 73-58 loss at USC Upstate (21-12) in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Post Season Tournament on Thursday night in South Carolina.
Playing in their first Division I postseason game in school history, the Spartans were on the attack from the opening tip grabbing a 40-22 lead at half time. The Golden Flashes started turning things around in the second half, trimming the margin to single digits with about 12 minutes remaining. The deficit was still at only nine with 11 minutes to go when junior Chris Evans (Chesapeake, Va.) had an open look at a three rim in-and-out.
USC Upstate capitalized on the miss taking off on a 9-1 run over the next three minutes capped off by a long three-pointer from Torrey Craig to put the game away. Craig, the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, led all scorers with 17 points.
Kent State was led by senior forward Justin Greene (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 12 points. Greene ends his career ranked third all-time at Kent State with 1,545 career points, second with 814 rebounds and second with 120 blocks. He is also second with 402 made free throws and fifth with 574 made field goals.