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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College men’s basketball team defeated Georgia Southern 82-75 on Saturday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers were up by as much as twenty points in the second half, but the Eagles fought back with eleven three pointers in the last 18 minutes to pull within seven at the final buzzer.
Wofford is 12-12 overall and 8-7 in the conference, while Georgia Southern is 7-17 overall and 5-11 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 17 points and Kevin Giltner had a career-high with 17 points. Corey Godzinski added eleven points, while Tim Johnson led the team with nine rebounds.
“I thought all of our guys played pretty well tonight,” said head coach Mike Young. “I was pleased with Godzinski as he played well on both ends of the floor. Giltner was good, needless to say, and 17 points is good numbers out of that spot. It was a good night all around as we out-rebounded them. It was good to win – wins in February are not easy to come by.”
The Eagles were up four points early at 9-5, but the Terriers gained the lead with a dunk from Terry Martin. With to score 14-13 at 12:17, Wofford used a three from Matt Estep to start slowly pulling away. Back-to-back three pointers from Kevin Giltner with under five minutes to go in the half pushed the lead to 29-18.
With 2:16 left in the first half, Corey Godzinski hit a three to take a 32-20 lead. At the half, Wofford had a 34-22 advantage.
To open the second half, Noah Dahlman scored two quick lay-ups for a 38-22 advantage. After a three from Georgia Southern’s Antonio Hanson, Wofford went on a six-point run to go up 20 points at 45-25 with 16:29 left in the half. The Eagles used three three pointers on the way to cutting the lead to 51-39 with 12:31 on the clock.
Kevin Giltner and Jason Dawson hit back-to-back threes and Corey Godzinski added a basket as Wofford used an 8-0 run to go back up by twenty points at 59-39. Georgia Southern chipped the lead back to twelve points, but with 4:25 on the clock the Terriers had a 70-53 lead.
Georgia Southern went on a 9-0 run with three straight three pointers to cut the lead to 70-62 with 2:10 on the clock. Down the stretch in the final two minutes, the Terriers responded with a 12-16 performance from the free throw line as the Eagles fouled immediately after each made basket. Georgia Southern scored the final five points of the game for the 82-75 score at the buzzer.
Wofford shot 53.2% from the floor and 45.5% from three. The Terriers were 66.7% from the line. The Eagles shot 47.5% from the floor and 54.2% from behind the arc, including 11-of18 in the second half. Georgia Southern was 75.0% from the free throw line. Wofford had a 36-30 advantage on the glass and forced 14 turnovers.
With the win, the Terriers are 8-7 in the Southern Conference. The eight wins are tied for the most by Wofford since joining the league in the 1997-98 season. Wofford reached the 8-8 mark in three previous seasons. The 19 assists were the most this season by the Terriers. Georgia Southern dressed only eight players for the game.
Wofford will not return to the floor until next Saturday, February 21 at Furman for a 4:00 pm contest. The Terriers will be home on Monday, February 23 hosting Western Carolina at 7:00 pm.
