Recap: USC Upstate vs. Kent State

Spartanburg, SC (Sports Network) - Torrey Craig led all scorers with 17 points to push USC Upstate to a 73-58 victory over Kent State in the first round of the CIT on Thursday.

Ty Greene followed with 16 points, while Jodd Maxey and Ricardo Glenn added 13 and 12 points, respectively, as the Spartans (21-12) advanced to the second round where they will play Old Dominion Sunday afternoon.

Kent State (21-12) was led by Justin Greene with 12 points and six rebounds and Randal Holt, who added nine points, as the Golden Flashes saw their season come to an end in defeat.

USC Upstate scored the first six points of the game to take a lead it never relinquished.

The Spartans led by as many as 20 in the first stanza and took a 40-22 halftime lead as they forced 15 turnovers from the Golden Flashes in the first half.

Kent State refused to go quietly as a 10-2 surge found the Golden Flashes down just eight, 51-43, with 11:23 still to play.

The comeback bid was short lived, however, as the Spartans responded with a 10-1 surge to press the lead to 17 with 8:20 remaining in the contest.

The lead never dipped into single digits the rest of the way, allowing USC Upstate to cruise to the double digit victory.