GAME NOTES: On the final day of the Spartanburg Marriott Upstate Classic, the host USC Upstate Spartans will clash with the Wright State Raiders at the Hodge Center.

Despite a valiant effort in the second half, Wright State fell short in overtime on Friday night against FIU, 61-59. The loss was the second of the event for the Raiders, who dropped a 67-62 decision to Cal State Fullerton on Thursday. The team own a 3-3 overall record now. Wright State will be back in action on Tuesday at Evansville.

USC Upstate has enjoyed a ton of success in the early going, winning five of its first six contests. The Spartans ran over Cal State Fullerton on Friday (79-64) just a day after blasting past FIU (68-53). They are a perfect 4-0 at home, with their next two games also coming at the Hodge Center.

This bout marks the first-ever meeting between these two programs.

Wright State fought back from a 31-22 halftime deficit against FIU. In fact, the Raiders had a 52-50 lead with 17 seconds to play after Reggie Arceneaux split a pair of free throws. However, FIU's Dennis Mavin sank a layup at the other end to force overtime. The Raiders ran out of gas in the extra period, missing 3-of-4 shots at the free-throw line, while the Panthers connected on 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. JT Yoho contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists in defeat.

With three losses in their last four games, it might come as a surprise that the Raiders are actually scoring as many points per game as they allow (68.5 ppg). Yoho (20.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg) takes on most of the scoring and rebounding responsibilities for the Raiders. Chrishawn Hopkins (15.7 ppg) is second on the team in scoring, but he was below his normal shooting rate against FIU, making only 3-of-7 shots from the floor. Hopkins is connecting on 50.8 percent of his shots. Arceneaux (12 ppg) and Joe Thomasson (10.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg) are both important contributors as well.

A day after using defense to squeeze FIU, USC Upstate ran away from Cal State Fullerton with an improved offensive effort. The Spartans forced 17 turnovers, while shooting 44.1 percent from the floor, including a solid 8-of-20 effort from 3-point range. USC Upstate also held a 13-6 edge in second-chance points. Ty Greene (29 points) and Fred Miller (25) accounted for 68.3 percent of the Spartans' scoring output in the victory.

The Spartans are doing quite a job in terms of scoring this season, as they are netting 77.3 points per game and shooting at a respectable 45.8 percent rate from the field. They haven't been too bad on defense either, surrendering a meager 57.5 points per game on 38 percent shooting. Greene (18.5 ppg) and Miler (14.3 ppg) are each doing an excellent job of keeping the offense humming. Greene is shooting 51.4 percent, while Miller chimes in at 47.5 percent. Each has made at least 50 percent of their attempts from 3-point range as well.

Neither of the first two challengers to face USC Upstate in this event have come close to knocking off the Spartans. As long as Greene and Miller continue to light it up, that won't change on Saturday.