Box Score Game box (pdf)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A 27 point, 10 rebound night by senior Kevin Giltner led the Wofford men’s basketball squad to an 82-63 victory over The Citadel Saturday evening in the Benjamin Johnson Arena.
With the victory, the Terriers improve to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in Southern Conference play, while the Bulldogs drop to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in league action. Giltner’s 27 points and 10 rebounds led Wofford in both statistical categories. The Terriers had two other players to reach double digits in scoring, as Brad Loesing had 16 points and Karl Cochran finished with 13 points. The Citadel was led by Mike Groselle and Ashton Moore, who each had 13 points.
“I thought we played a really good basketball game against a pretty good team that’s only going to get better as the season goes on,” stated head coach Mike Young. “I’m proud of our team, going into the break at 1-1 in the league is not bad. I thought we played pretty well. “
The Terriers jumped out to an early 7-2 lead to start the contest following a layup by Brad Loesing with 18:30 remaining in the first half. The Citadel came back to tie the contest at 10-10 at the 16:06 mark, yet Wofford answered back with a 12-0 run, sparked by two three-pointers by Kevin Giltner to set the score at 22-10 with 12:54 left in the half.
Wofford pushed the lead to as high as 17 points, with the score sitting at 40-23 with 3:53 remaining in the half following a layup by Aerris Smith, but the Bulldogs answered back with a layup by Mike Groselle with 3:09 left in the half, setting the score at 40-25. Neither team scored in the final minutes of the half, giving the Terriers a 15 point lead at the break.
The Terriers opened the second half on the offensive attack, as Karl Cochran scored a layup just seconds after the start of the half. The Citadel attempted to make a comeback, cutting the lead to as little as nine points a the 13:57 mark, capping an 8-0 run by the Bulldogs following a free throw by Lawrence Miller to put the score at 46-37.
Wofford went on a 5-0 run with the score sitting at 51-37 with 13:34 remaining, and The Citadel answered back with its own 5-0 run to cut the lead back down to nine, 51-42 with 12:32 remaining following a three pointer by Ashton Moore, but the Bulldogs would not be able to get any closer, as the Terriers built the lead to as high as 21 points, 78-57, following a free-throw by Brad Loesing with 2:31 left on the clock.
The Terriers shot 55.2 % from the floor for the evening, while The Citadel shot 43.1% overall. Wofford finished 9-23 from behind the arc, while the Bulldogs went 5-13 from three. Wofford was 9-16 from the free throw line, while The Citadel went 14-24 from the charity stripe. The Terriers outrebounded The Citadel by a 36-29 margin.
Wofford will return to action Tuesday evening, hosting Tulane at 7:00 p.m. in the Benjamin Johnson Arena in what will be the third contest of the current five-game home stand for the Terriers.
