Box Score WOF-GSU Box Score
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Wofford College men’s basketball picked up an 86-79 win against Georgia Southern on Thursday night at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Eagles led by nine at the half, but a strong Terrier second half, including a 9-0 run, pushed Wofford to the win.
The Terriers are 10-8 overall and 3-5 in SoCon play. Georgia Southern is 12-7 on the season and 5-4 in conference play. The Terriers were led by Drew Gibson with 14 points and twelve assists for the double-double, his first of the season. Corey Godzinski and Tim Johnson each had nine rebounds. For the Eagles, Louis Graham had 26 points and eight rebounds.
The Eagles started the game with a three-pointer by Dwayne Foreman and quickly had a 7-4 lead. The Terriers responded with five points on a lay-up and three-pointer by Drew Gibson to take a 9-7 lead. After three-pointers by Matt Estep and Junior Salters, Wofford built a 15-10 lead at the 13:00 mark.
Georgia Southern then went on a 14-1 run over six minutes, including back-to-back three pointers by Antoine Johnson and Dwayne Foreman. Wofford ended a seven-minute stretch without a basket with a put-back by Noah Dahlman at 6:40, giving the Eagles a 24-18 lead. A three-pointer by Antoine Johnson was matched by Junior Salters for a 27-21 score with 5:10 left in the first half.
Corey Godzinski hit a three-pointer for the Terriers with three minutes to play and a six point lead for the Eagles at 32-26. Georgia Southern scored four of the last five points in the half to take a 36-27 lead into the break.
The Terriers came out of the locker room strong, led by a Tyler Whatley dunk to cut the lead to eight. A three-pointer by Junior Salters and a rare four-point play by Salters cut the lead to only two points at 41-39 at 17:48 in the second half. Wofford tied the game at 45 at 15:29. The Terriers took a 49-47 lead on a three-point shot by Corey Godzinski, but the game was tied again at 51 each at 12:15 in the second half.
Wofford then went on a 9-0 run, which included another three-pointer by Corey Godzinski, to take a 60-51 lead at 10:26. The Eagles pulled within six points, but a three pointer by Junior Salters extended the Terriers lead to 65-56 with 7:20 left in the half. A basket by Drew Gibson gave Wofford a 67-58 lead just under five minutes to play.
The Terriers continued to hold the lead as the Eagles went over five minutes without a field goal until Antoine Johnson hit with 47 seconds left in the game. Noah Dahlman scored the last five points of the game for the Terriers as they came away with a 86-79 win.
The game was the first in a stretch of five conference games in ten days. Shane Nichols (ankle) and Marcus Jackson (shoulder) did not make the trip due to injury. Georgia Southern has not lost to Wofford at Hanner Fieldhouse since January 2, 2001, a stretch of six games. Wofford has now won two straight conference road games.
Wofford shot 50.8% from the floor and 47.6% from three. The Terriers were 63.6% from the line. The Eagles were 42.4% from the floor and 39.1% from behind the arc and 77.8% from the free throw line. Wofford had a 38-36 edge on the boards. Tyler Whatley fouled out for Wofford with 1:23 left in the game and Dwayne Foreman fouled out with 47 seconds left in the game for Georgia Southern.
Continuing the five games in ten days, Wofford will host Western Carolina on Saturday, January 26 at 7:00 pm and College of Charleston on January 28 at 7:00 pm. The College of Charleston game will be broadcast live on CSS.
