Box Score Game Book (pdf)
ELON, N.C. – The Wofford men’s basketball team defeated Elon 72-55 at Alumni Gym on Saturday night to improve to 2-2 in the Southern Conference. The Terriers used an 18-4 run at the end of the first half to pull away and secure the win.
Wofford is 10-7 on the season and 2-2 in the SoCon, while Elon is 3-12 overall and 1-3 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 18 points and five rebounds, while Jamar Diggs had 17 points. Tim Johnson had nine rebounds. The Phoenix were led by Adam Constantine with 21 points and 21 rebounds.
“I was a bit concerned in the second half when they got close,” said head coach Mike Young. “It is another sign of guys being around with experience and we were able to weather to storm. You are on the road in this league and there is going to be ebb and flow to all of them and tonight was no exception. You hang in there and keep sticking it in the post and get to the foul line. This was a good weekend to go on the road and get two wins to get back to 2-2 on the year. We are okay and helped ourselves this week and look forward to a couple at home.”
The Terriers had an early 6-2 lead, but the Phoenix tied the game at six, eight and ten points. Elon took their first lead of the night at 12:38 with a bucket and free throw by T.J. Douglas for a 13-10 advantage. Nathan Parker scored the next two baskets for Wofford to regain the lead at 14-13 just under the twelve minute mark.
Wofford continued the run with four more points to take an 18-13 lead. However the Phoenix responded with a quick 5-0 run to tie the game again at 18. The Terriers went on an 18-4 run to end the half, which included four points by Noah Dahlman, five by Nathan Parker and nine points by Jamar Diggs. Wofford had a 38-22 lead at the break as the Phoenix shot just 27.3% from the floor in the half.
To open the second half, Wofford scored six of the first seven points to increase the lead to 44-23 at the sixteen minute mark. Wofford had a 50-30 lead with 13:50 on the clock, but the Phoenix began chipping away at the advantage. After a three from Terrance Birdette at 8:13, the Wofford lead was down to 56-44.
The lead for Wofford was 63-49 with 3:51 left in the game. The Terriers used a lay-up by Brad Loesing and two free throws by Jamar Diggs to push the lead back to 68-50 with 2:15 on the clock. Wofford was able to make more free throws down the stretch than the Phoenix and came away with a 72-55 road win.
Wofford shot 46.5% from the floor and only had one three pointer (1-of-7). From the free throw line, the Terriers were 68.9%. Elon shot 32.10% overall and were 9.5% (2-21) from three. They were 63.0% from the line. Wofford had a 39-31 lead on the boards. A total of 57 fouls were called in the game.
The win was the 100th career victory for head coach Mike Young. Nathan Parker had a career-high eleven points in the game. Noah Dahlman scored in double figures for the 17th time this season. Wofford had the lead at the half for the eleventh time. Terry Martin fouled out of the game with 4:45 left in the game. Devan Carter fouled out for Elon at 2:15.
The Terriers return home on Thursday when they host Georgia Southern at 7:00 pm. Wofford will also host Davidson on Saturday at 7:00 pm.
