Box Score Game Box (pdf)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After taking an 18-point lead at the half, the Wofford men’s basketball team defeated Samford 81-68 on Wednesday night at the Pete Hanna Center. The Terriers shot 59.6% for the game and were 7-of-12 from behind the arc in the victory.

Wofford is 15-12 on the season and 12-4 in the Southern Conference and Samford is 12-15 overall and 4-11 in SoCon play. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 21 points, followed by Cameron Rundles with 17 points and Jamar Diggs with 14 points. Tim Johnson led the team with seven rebounds. The Bulldogs were led by Josh Bedwell with 15 points, ten of which were in the second half. John Peterson added 14 points.

“We will take a win on the road in February in this league anytime we can get it,” said Wofford head coach Mike Young. “I thought we played very well in the first half, and not just because we were up 18 points. It may have been as well as we have played in quite a while. Wed did some good things in the second half, but too many trips to the foul line.”

Wofford scored first, but were down 8-5 four minutes into play. The Terriers regained the lead with a lay-up by Noah Dahlman to make it a 9-8 game at 15:25 in the half. Wofford slowly built a lead at 18-13, which included two free throws after a technical foul on the Samford bench. The Terriers then used a quick 10-0 run that included six points from Jamar Diggs and four points by Noah Dahlman for a 28-13 advantage with 10:24 on the clock.

Kevin Giltner hit a three for a 31-18 lead at 6:57 in the second half. The teams traded threes on four straight possessions and the score was 38-26 with 3:40 remaining in the half. The Terriers outscored the Bulldogs 8-2 in the final three minutes to take a 46-28 lead at the break. Noah Dahlman, Jamar Diggs and Cameron Rundles all scored in double-figures as the Terriers shot 66.7% in the first half.

Samford scored first to open the second half, but after a bucket and free throw by Noah Dahlman the Terriers had a 51-30 lead. The Bulldogs scored the next six points to cut the lead to 51-36 at 14:45 in the second half. Threes by Cameron Rundles and Kevin Giltner enabled the Terriers to push the advantage to 61-38 at the twelve-minute mark.

The Bulldogs were able to chip away at the lead and the score was 65-47 with 7:37 left in the half. Wofford answered with a lay-up and free throw by Noah Dahlman for a 68-47 lead with 5:51 on the clock. Tim Johnson scored the next three points for the Terriers, but Samford answered with back-to-back threes by Josh Bedwell and a lay-up from John Peterson to cut the lead to 73-59 with 2:35 left in the game. The Bulldogs kept scoring in the final minutes, but the Terriers sealed the win with a three by Matt Steelman with 52 seconds left. Samford did score five points in the final 39 seconds for an 81-68 final score.

Wofford shot 59.6% from the floor and was 58.3% from three. From the free throw line, the Terriers were 62.1%. Samford was 45.8% overall and was 26.3% from behind the arc. They were 63.3% from the line. The Terriers had a 31-25 lead on the glass, but did commit 17 turnovers. A total of 46 fouls were called in the contest. Wofford is 7-0 against SoCon North teams and 6-1 in conference road games this season.

The Terriers return home for the final regular season game on Saturday, February 19 at 7:00 pm against Ball State in the ESPN BracketBuster contest. Wofford will end the regular season next week with road games at Chattanooga and Furman.