Box Score Game Book (pdf)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With only a two-point lead at the half, Wofford outscored Chattanooga by thirteen in the second half to win 78-63 on Monday night in Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers had four players score in double-figures and shot 50% from the floor in the game.
Wofford is 14-8 on the season and 6-3 in the SoCon, while Chattanooga is 11-10 overall and 5-4 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 20 points and Junior Salters with 14 points. Brad Loesing added 13 points and eight assists with no turnovers, while Tim Johnson had seven rebounds. The Mocs were led by Ty Patterson with 15 points and three players had five rebounds each.
“I thought the Mocs came in here and outplayed us in the first half,” said head coach Mike Young. “They did better things and we had a hard time with their ball screens. They played with great energy. I thought in the second half you saw a visiting team that showed some real signs of playing three straight games on the road. That is hard for a team to have to play three on the road on a Thursday, Saturday and Monday.”
The Terriers were up 10-4 five minutes into the game, which included two three pointers by Junior Salters. Chattanooga answered and took the lead at 16-14 at 11:03 on the clock, but Wofford regained the lead with a three by Brad Loesing. A three by Jamar Diggs gave Wofford a 22-17 lead with 9:03 left in the first half.
Chattanooga cut the lead to three points, but a quick three pointer by Jamar Diggs and a lay-up off a steal by Cameron Rundles pushed the advantage back to 29-21 with six minutes to go in the half. The Mocs were able to use a 12-4 run over a three minute span to tie the game at 36 points, but Noah Dahlman scored the final two points of the half for a 38-36 Wofford lead at the break.
Early in the second half, Wofford held a 43-40 advantage before slowly using a 13-4 run over five minutes for a 56-44 lead at the ten minute mark. The Terriers pushed the lead to 15 points with 8:39 on the clock and were able to keep a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game. The Wofford defense held the Mocs to 32% from the floor and only 1-of-10 from three in the second half as they took the 78-63 win.
“Brad Loesing had a great night in here tonight,” said Young. “He battled through a two or three game stretch where he had a hard time finding the bottom of the basket, but he had a pretty good line tonight. Eight assists and no turnovers, he is the quarterback and does a lot of things for our team that fans might not recognize. He is a dream come true in that backcourt spot.”
Wofford shot 50% from the floor and were 43.5% from three. From the free throw line, the Terriers were 57.1%. Chattanooga was 44.7% overall and were 27.3% from behind the arc. They were 75.0% from the line. Wofford had a 32-30 lead on the glass and commited only nine turnovers to the Mocs’ sixteen.
Noah Dahlman scored in double-figures for the 22nd time this season and has led the team in scoring in 17 games. Wofford has won seven of their last eight games. Tim Johnson fouled out for Wofford, while DeAntre Jefferson fouled out for the Mocs.
The Terriers host Furman on Saturday at 3:00 pm, the second of four-straight conference home games at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The game will also be televised on SportSouth.
