Box Score Game Book (pdf)
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford men’s basketball team was down at the half but came back and defeated Furman 76-65 on Wednesday night at Timmons Arena. The Terriers made 19 free throws in the second half to secure the fifth win in a row.
Wofford is 18-8 on the season and 10-3 in the SoCon, while Furman is 11-13 overall and 5-8 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Jamar Diggs and Noah Dahlman, each with 17 points. Cameron Rundles added 15 points, eleven of which were from the line, and he led the team with seven rebounds. The Paladins were led by Justin Dehm with twelve points and Colin Reddick with ten points.
“We just dug down and went after it in the second half,” said head coach Mike Young. “I was disappointed with our lack of patience in the first half. Up ten I thought we were trying to swing from our heels and knock them out of here, but that is not how it works on the road. It is a gradual, progressive thing and we did a lot better job with that in the second half.”
The Paladins scored first, but after a three pointer by Brad Loesing the Terriers had a 7-5 lead at the 15:30 mark. The bucket by Loesing was the start of an 8-0 run for Wofford as they added a three from Jason Dawson on the way to a 12-5 lead at the twelve minute mark. After the Terriers built a nine-point lead, Furman scored five quick points to cut the lead to 16-12 with 8:47 on the clock.
Noah Dalhman scored the next four points for the Terriers to take a 20-12 lead and at the five minute mark Wofford had a 24-14 advantage. Furman chipped away at the lead and a three by Darryl Evans cut it to 24-21 before Jamar Diggs hit a three for Wofford. However, the Paladins added a three by Amu Saaka on the way to taking a 30-29 lead at the break. Over the final five minutes, Furman outscored the Terriers 16-5.
To open the second half, Wofford scored the first four points but the game was tied at 33 two minutes into play. The Terriers put together a quick 10-0 run to take a 43-33 lead at the 14:35 mark. A three by Jason Dawson at 13:50 gave Wofford a 47-35 lead. Again, the Paladins clawed back and the score was 49-41 with twelve minutes left in the half.
After the Terriers took a twelve point lead at 53-41, the Paladins used a quick 6-0 run. Junior Salters hit a three to end the run and give Wofford a 56-47 lead with nine minutes left. Cameron Rundles hit six-of-six free throws over the next two minutes as the Terriers had a 64-54 advantage at the five minute mark.
Over the final five minutes, Furman would cut the lead to eight points once but the Terriers quickly had the lead back at 13 points with 2:15 left in the game after a lay-up by Brad Loesing. The Paladins scored the final basket of the game with 26 seconds remaining for the 76-65 final score.
Wofford shot 44.4% from the floor and were 50.0% from three. From the free throw line, the Terriers were 67.6%, which included 11-of-14 by Cameron Rundles. Furman was 41.3% overall and were 50.0% from behind the arc. They were 72.4% from the line. Wofford had a 40-26 lead on the boards and Furman had six blocks in the game.
With the victory, the Terriers have 18 wins on the season which is the most since moving to NCAA Division I. Noah Dahlman scored in double-figures for the 26th time this season. Wofford has won eleven of their last twelve games and have defeated Furman in four straight meetings. Terry Martin fouled out for Wofford and Jordan Miller fouled out for Furman.
The Terriers continue the four-game road trip at Samford on Saturday at 3:00 pm. The next home game is February 25 against the College of Charleston.
