Box Score Wofford-WVW Box Score
SPARTANBURG, SC – The Wofford College men’s basketball team picked up an 81-61 win over West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon at Benjamin Johnson Arena. Wofford led by eleven at the half and used a 7-0 run to start the second half to eventually extend the lead to 26 points.
The Terriers are 8-5 overall and 1-2 in SoCon play. West Virginia Wesleyan is 3-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Terriers were led by Shane Nichols with 14 points and Terry Martin and Drew Gibson each added 13 points. Noah Dahlman and Terry Martin each had six rebounds for Wofford. West Virginia Wesleyan was led by Justin Caldwell with a game-high 22 points and Jerel Thomas with six rebounds.
“We played well against a pretty good team,” said Wofford head coach Mike Young. “We will take the win and move on. West Virginia Wesleyan is in a very good conference and they are going to win some games this season. We have 17 conference games left on the schedule, and we have two of those big ones coming up next week. It would be great to have nice crowds for those key games at Johnson Arena.”
The Terriers scored first on a basket by Terry Martin, but the Bobcats took a 4-2 lead with shots by Chris Smith and Steve Nichols. The Terriers then went on an 8-0 run to take a 10-4 lead at 15:03. At the mid-point of the first half, Wofford had a 22-11 lead after a lay-up by Shane Nichols.
A shot by Ryan Hoehner for West Virginia Wesleyan cut the lead to eight at 27-19 with 6:10 left in the first half. Back-to-back three pointers by Shane Nichols increased the lead by to twelve at 36-24, but Jared Chafin answered for the Bobcats with a three as well. Corey Godzinski scored for Wofford with 52 seconds left to give the Terriers a 38-27 lead at the half.
Wofford began the second half with a 7-0 run. The run ended with a basket and free throw by Justin Caldwell. Mike Young picked up a technical foul, and after two free throws by Caldwell, the Terriers lead was 45-32. Wofford gradually increased the lead to 21 points after a lay-up Noah Dahlman at 12:35 in the second half for a 55-34 score.
The Terriers kept the lead near twenty points for the remainder of the second half. A three-pointer by Marcus Jackson with 2:30 left in the game gave the Terriers a 79-53 lead, the largest of the game. Steve Nichols matched the three for a 79-56 score with 1:24 remaining. After a dunk by Corey Godzinski, the Bobcats scored the last five points of the game in the final 29 seconds for the 81-61 final score.
All thirteen players saw action for the Terriers and eleven had points in the game. Drew Gibson had six steals, tying a career-game high. Wofford shot 54.0% from the floor and were 45.0% from three-point. The Bobcats were 46.8% from the floor and 42.1% from behind the arc. Wofford out-rebounded the Bobcats 33-21 marking the ninth time in twelve games the Terriers have out-rebounded an opponent.
The game was the final non-conference contest of the season for the Terriers. Wofford will play the third of four straight home games on Thursday, January 10 when Appalachian State will play at Benjamin Johnson Arena at 7:00 pm. The Terriers will close the home stand with a visit from Davidson College on Saturday, January 12 at 7:00 pm.
