Box Score Game Book (pdf)
RICHMOND, Va. – On Wednesday night the Wofford College men’s basketball team was defeated 75-66 by Virginia Commonwealth University in the Richmond Marriott Holidays on the Hardwood Classic at the Verizon Wireless Arena. The Terriers were down six at the half and tied the game early in the second, but the Rams scored the final six points for the win.
Wofford is 5-7 on the season and Virginia Commonwealth is 8-4 overall. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman and Jamar Diggs with 13 points each. Tim Johnson had nine rebounds. The Rams were led by Brandon Rozzell with 18 points, including four three-pointers.
“That might have been the best 40 minutes we played all season,” said head coach Mike Young. “I am proud of our team. This was a great environment and a championship-level game and our guys stuck it in there and competed. The score is not indicative of how it played out. I feel good about our direction.”
The Terriers scored first and then had a 10-9 lead at the 14:30 mark after a three pointer by Kevin Giltner. The Rams scored the next four points in the contest and had a 13-10 advantage with 11:45 on the clock. VCU continued the run and pushed the lead to 18-10 before Terry Martin hit a jump shot to make it 18-12 with 8:40 left in the first half.
VCU was able to extend the lead to 21-14 with a three pointer by Brandon Rozzell at the 7:05 mark. Wofford was able to make it a 24-20 game with two free throws by Brad Loesing at 4:28 in the first half. The Rams had a 33-24 lead with two seconds left, but Jamar Diggs hit a long three at the buzzer for a 33-27 score at the break.
Wofford opened the second half with the first five points to make it a one-point game before the Rams hit a three for a 36-32 lead. The teams traded three pointers, but the Terriers were able to take a 42-41 lead after a lay-up by Noah Dahlman with 14:28 on the clock. The game was tied at 42, 45 and 48 before another three by the Rams gave them a 51-48 lead with 11:30 left in the second half.
The Rams were able to keep a five-point advantage and were up 58-53 with 7:26 on the clock. Wofford used a three by Cameron Rundles and four straight points by Noah Dahlman to tie the game at 64 with just over four minutes left. Brandon Rozzell hit a three for the Rams for a 67-64 lead on their next possession. Down by five points with 1:24 left, Jamar Diggs hit a jumper to cut the lead to three points with 50 seconds on the clock and then Wofford forced a turnover. The Terriers missed two free throws and the Rams went on a 6-0 run to end the game for a 75-66 final score.
Wofford shot a 46.9% from the floor and were 53.8% from three. From the free throw line, the Terriers were 65.0%. VCU was 48.1% overall and were 47.8% from behind the arc. They were 70.0% from the line. Wofford had a 32-26 edge on the boards.
On December 30, Wofford will face Cornell at 5:00 pm in the third place game of the tournament. The Terriers return home on January 6 against The Citadel.
