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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College men’s basketball team lead start to finish in an 81-66 win over Western Carolina on Monday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers had four players in double figures, including Noah Dahlman with 20 points.
Wofford is 14-12 overall and 10-7 in the conference, while Western Carolina is 14-14 overall and 9-9 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Tim Johnson had 18 points and eight boards. Brad Loesing tied a career-high with twelve points and Kevin Giltner added ten points. The Catamounts were led by Harouna Mutombo and Greg Avery with 14 points each.
“It was a very determined effort on both ends of the floor,” said head coach Mike Young. “It was a game where you think every guy that stepped on the floor made a significant contribution. We are playing our best basketball without question right now. We have three more battles heading into the tournament and if we continue to play well, we will see what happens.”
The game got off to a sloppy start for both teams and the score was 4-2 when the Catamounts made their first basket at 14:42. A lay-up by Tim Johnson at the twelve minute mark pushed the lead to 10-6. Western Carolina added a three from Brigham Waginger at 7:21 to cut the lead to one at 16-15.
Wofford quickly scored on a lay-up from Brad Loesing and a three from Kevin Giltner. After another three from Giltner and a bucket from Noah Dahlman, the Terriers had a 30-20 lead at 4:13. Wofford pushed the lead to eleven at 35-24 for the halftime lead.
Early in the second half Western Carolina cut the lead to nine twice, but Wofford responded and had a twelve point lead at 15:57. The lead was eight at 15:11, but the Terriers went on a quick 6-0 run to take a 49-35 lead at 13:19. After getting the lead back to nine points, Jason Dawson hit a three to go up 52-40 at 10:55. The Catamounts did not get any closer for the rest of the game.
Tim Johnson got the lead to 63-45 with a bucket at the eight minute mark and after a lay-up from Corey Godzinski, it was a 19 points lead at 65-46. The Catamounts fought back to within ten points at 69-59, but the lead quickly reached 14 again for Wofford. In the final minute, Brad Loesing and Corey Godzinski combined to go 6-of-6 from the line to secure the 81-66 win for the Terriers.
Wofford shot 53.7% from the floor and 28.6% from three. The Terriers were 61.3% from the line. The Catamounts shot 37.1% from the floor and 27.3% from behind the arc. Western Carolina was 73.7% from the free throw line. The Catamounts had a 41-40 edge on the boards, but the Terriers forced 16 turnovers.
With the win, the Terriers are 10-7 in the Southern Conference. The ten wins are the most by Wofford since joining the league in the 1997-98 season. Wofford also will have at least a .500 record in the conference for only the fourth time.
Noah Dahlman has led the team in scoring each of the last six games. Wofford has been over 50% from the floor in each of the last three games and scored over 80 points in all three games. The Terriers have won three games in a row for the second time this season.
The Terriers will be on the road on Thursday at 7:00 pm against the College of Charleston. It will be Wofford’s first visit to Carolina First Arena and the contest will be televised on CSS. The final stretch of five games in ten days to complete the regular season continues Saturday in Charleston at The Citadel and wraps up on Monday, March 2 against Furman at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
