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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College men’s basketball team defeated The Citadel 78-60 on Thursday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers had five players score in double figures and had at least a ten point lead the entire second half.
Wofford is 6-8 on the season and 3-0 in the Southern Conference and The Citadel is 5-10 overall and 1-2 in SoCon play. The Terriers were led by with Noah Dahlman with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Kevin Giltner scored 13, Cameron Rundles and Jamar Diggs each added 12 points, and Brad Loesing scored ten points in the win. For The Citadel, Cameron Wells had 17 points, while Mike Groselle had a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds.
“We did some better things tonight and we needed a game like this against a good Citadel team,” said head coach Mike Young. “I am proud of our guys. The numbers are good and it was a good floor game. Field goal percentage defense was 37%, which is very good. We wanted to hold Wells under his average and we were able to do that. Everyone on our team came ready to play. We are not a finished product, but it was a step in the right direction in the critical areas.”
The Bulldogs scored first in the game, but it would prove to be their only lead in the contest. Six minutes into the first half, the score was 9-8 in favor of the Terriers when a10-0 run that included six points by Noah Dahlman made it a 19-8 score with 9:16 left in the half. A long three by Kevin Giltner with 6:41 in the clock made it a 26-12 game.
Wofford was able to push the lead to 15 points at the three-minute mark with a 33-18 score. The Bulldogs however scored five of the last seven points in the half to make it a 35-25 game at the break.
To open the second half, the Terriers scored the first five points to go up 40-25 at the 18:31 mark. The lead was nineteen points with 13:48 left in the half after a lay-up by Cameron Rundles and the score was 58-40 at the midpoint of the second half.
The Citadel slowly cut the lead back down to 65-53 with five minutes left in the game. However just four minutes later the Terriers held their largest advantage of the night at 76-56 after a bucket by Cameron Rundles. Two free throws by Taylor Wagener with 57 seconds on the clock kept the lead at 78-58, but the Bulldogs scored the final points of the night for a 78-60 score.
Wofford shot a 49.1% from the floor and were 23.5% from three. From the free throw line, the Terriers were 74.1%. The Citadel was 37.9% overall and were 7.1% from behind the arc. They were 78.9% from the line. The Bulldogs had a 38-29 lead in rebounds, but the Terriers forced 16 turnovers. Wofford has won eight-straight in the series against The Citadel.
The Terriers remain at Benjamin Johnson Arena on Saturday, January 8 against the College of Charleston. The contest against the Cougars is slated for a 6:00 pm start and will air on CSS.
