Box Score Wofford-TSU Game Box
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The Wofford College men’s basketball team defeated Texas Southern 63-56 on Saturday afternoon at the Orleans Arena. The Terriers had a 9-4 run to end the game and secured the win with four free throws by Drew Gibson in the last 16 seconds.
The Terriers are 6-4 overall and 1-1 in SoCon play. Texas Southern is now 1-10 on the season. The game was the third for both teams in the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic. Terry Martin and Matt Estep both led the Terriers with 12 points. Noah Dahlman and Terry Martin each had six rebounds.
“We did not play well today, but what matters is the fact is this goes in the column as a win,” said Wofford head coach Mike Young. “Texas Southern has good pieces and really good players and they played a style that we were not used to seeing. We are elated with the win and now have a chance to win the tournament tomorrow afternoon. I think the travel might be catching up to us, but we will play like I know we are capable of on Sunday.”
The Terriers scored first, but back-to-back three’s by Sollie Norwood gave Texas Southern a lead. After the first six minutes, the Tigers led 15-8 with nine points from behind the arc. Wofford then went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 15-15. A three-pointer by Norm Nixon gave the Terriers an 18-17 lead.
Texas Southern moved ahead by three at 24-21, but Corey Godzinski tied the game with a three-pointer with eight minutes remaining in the first half. Wofford led 31-27 after a three-pointer by Junior Salters. With 20 seconds left, Texas Southern’s Johnathan Frazier hit a three to tie the game at 34-34 at the break.
In the second half, David Burrell scored seven points for Texas Southern in the first six minutes. Matt Estep ended a run by the Tigers with a three at 13:42 to cut the lead to 42-40. The Terriers were able to take a 47-46 lead with eight minutes to go in the game when Terry Martin hit a jump shot and made a free throw for the three-point play.
With 3:10 left in the second half, Norm Nixon hit a three from behind the NBA line as time expired on the shot clock for a 57-52 lead. After turnovers on two straight possessions, Wofford’s Noah Dahlman scored with 35 seconds left on a back-door play for a 59-54 lead. Drew Gibson hit four free throws in the last 16 seconds to give Wofford the 63-56 win.
Wofford was tied at the half for the second straight game. The Terriers shot 42.0% from the floor, while holding Texas Southern to 42.9%. Wofford was 40.0% from three point land for the game and 64.7% from the free throw line. The Terriers were without Tyler Whatley, who missed the game due to a rib injury. Drew Gibson played in jersey #34 for the game.
The game was the fourth of five straight on the road for the Terriers. On Sunday, December 23, the Terriers will face Bethune-Cookman in the final game of the road trip at 5:30 pm ET. Bethune-Cookman was a 56-54 winner over UT-Pan American. The next home game will be Tuesday, January 3 against Chattanooga.
