Box Score Wofford-Georgia Game Box (pdf)
Wofford-Georgia Game Box (html)
ATHENS, Ga. – The Wofford College men’s basketball team took Georgia to overtime on Saturday afternoon, but were defeated 74-73 on a last second three pointer at Stegman Coliseum. Wofford was led by Junior Salters with 20 points.
Wofford is 4-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference, while Georgia is 7-3 overall and have not started SEC play. The Terriers were led by Junior Salters with 20 points, while Tim Johnson had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Noah Dahlman also had a double-double with eleven points and eleven rebounds. Georgia was led by Trey Thompkins with 15 points and five rebounds.
“We deserve better, but sometimes deserving better does not translate into winning games,” said head coach Mike Young. “We did everything right. Brad Loesing went to the basket late and we were in great shape. They made a big time shot to win. Now we are going to take a break and when we come back we can build upon what we have done and continue forward.”
The Terriers scored first, but quickly found themselves down 20-8 at 11:35 in the first half as Georgia put together a 7-0 run. With 6:33 left on the clock, the Bulldogs had a 29-14 advantage. The Bulldogs did not score a basket in the final 5:22 of the first half. During that time, Tim Johnson scored eight straight points as part of a 10-0 run for the Terriers to pull to 33-29 with 1:20 left in the half. Each team then added one free throw for the 34-30 halftime score.
Georgia opened the second half strong and were up 40-32 at 18:14. The Terriers responded with a 7-0 run, which included a three by Junior Salters to make it a 40-39 game at 16:34 in the second half. Salters then hit a three from the top of the arc to give Wofford a 42-40 lead with 15:45 on the clock.
After trading three’s, the score was tied at 45-45 at 11:57. With the addition of free throws by Kevin Giltner, the Terriers had a 48-45 lead at 11:07. Georgia then went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead at 54-48 at 8:18. Back-to-back three pointers by Corey Godzinski and Brad Loesing tied the game back at 54-54 with 6:02 left.
The Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 59-54, but Wofford pulled to within one after a basket by Tim Johnson and two free throws by Junior Salters with 1:46 remaining. The Terriers took the lead after two free throws by Noah Dahlman with 50 seconds left at 60-59. Trey Thompkins hit a three for Georgia with 25 seconds left to go up 62-60. With eight left on the clock, Brad Loesing hit two free throws to tie the game at 62-62. Trey Thompkins tried a long three as the clock ran out, but it missed sending the game to overtime.
Georgia scored first in overtime on a basket by Ricky McPhee, but then Noah Dahlman hit two straight shots for a 66-64 lead at 3:08. Wofford then took a 70-66 lead after three points by Tim Johnson with 1:29 on the clock. A three by Zac Swansey tied the game at 71-71 with 15 seconds. The Terriers took the lead when Brad Loesing drove to the basket to go up 73-71 with only five seconds on the clock. As time expired, Zac Swansey hit another three to give Georgia the 74-73 win.
Wofford shot 37.o% from the floor and 32.0% from three. The Terriers were 65.0% from the line. The Bulldogs shot 37.0% from the floor and 32.0% from behind the arc. Georgia was 62.0% from the free throw line. Wofford had a 45-35 edge on the glass.
The game was the first overtime contest of the season for Wofford. The last meeting between Georgia and Wofford in 2004 also went to overtime. Noah Dahlman fouled out for Wofford and Albert Jackson fouled out for Georgia.
The Terriers will take a break for the holidays and return to action on January 2 at Navy, followed by a trip on January 5 to South Carolina.
