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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford men’s basketball team closed out the regular season home slate with a 66-61 win over Ball State on Saturday night in a Sears BracketBusters contest at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers led by ten at the half, but the Cardinals led by one point with 2:33 remaining before Noah Dahlman scored eight of Wofford’s final ten points to earn the win.
Wofford is 16-12 on the season and 12-4 in the Southern Conference. Ball State is 15-11 overall on the year. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 21 points, while Tim Johnson recorded his third double-double of the season with eleven points and 13 rebounds. The Cardinals were led by Jarrod Jones with 13 points and Randy Davis and Jauwan Scaife with twelve points each.
“We were pretty good on the defensive end tonight in the first half,” said Wofford head coach Mike Young. “They have a good club, but a couple guys you don’t have to guard on the perimeter which helps you. It was strange to play a non-league game this time of year, but I think the game was great for our team and as we look ahead to a very important week with Chattanooga on Wednesday I think this one will pay dividends for us.”
The Cardinals scored first in the contest and took a 9-3 lead four minutes into play. Wofford regained the lead on a 9-0 that was capped by a three from Cameron Rundles for a 12-9 score with 13:17 on the clock. Ball State was able to take a 17-15 lead, but Wofford tied it and then a three by Jamar Diggs gave the Terriers a 20-17 advantage with 7:58 left in the half.
A bucket and free throw by Noah Dahlman at the 5:35 mark gave Wofford a 24-17 lead. A three by Cameron Rundles pushed the score to 27-19 with 4:29 left in the first half. Kevin Giltner added a three with 1:52 on the clock for a ten-point lead. The Cardinals added a bucket, but Tim Johnson scored with two seconds left to give Wofford the 34-24 lead at the half. The Terriers limited Ball State to only 28.1% from the floor in the first half.
Ball State opened the second half with a 13-2 run over the opening seven minutes to take a 37-36 lead. The game went back-and-forth over the next few minutes as the game was tied at 39, 41 and 43 before the Terriers pulled away at 50-43 after a three by Cameron Rundles at the 8:20 mark. The Cardinals answered with a 7-0 run to tie the game again at 50 with 5:57 left.
The game was tied at 54 and then at 56 with 2:47 remaining. The Cardinals took a 57-56 lead on a free throw with 2:33 left in the game. Jamar Diggs hit a bucket to give the Terriers back the lead at 58-57 with 2:22 on the clock. At that point, Noah Dahlman took over. He stole the ball from Ball State point guard Randy Davis and took the ball down court for a lay-up and added a free throw for a four point lead. After a steal from Jamar Diggs on the Cardinal’s next trip down the floor, Dahlman added another lay-up for a 63-57 lead. In the final twelve seconds, Dahlman added three free throws for the 66-61 final score.
“I am going to miss this place so much,” said senior forward Noah Dahlman. “I kissed the court on my way out because this arena has been everything for me. I walked in here May 30, 2007 and looked up in the rafters and said to myself ‘I want to make something special out of this experience.’ Leaving now in February of 2011, it has been a heck of a ride. Benjamin Johnson Arena has been unbelievably special for me and going out like that, I would not want it any other way.”
Wofford shot 40.0% from the floor and was 42.1% from three. From the free throw line, the Terriers were 52.6%. Ball State was 37.9% overall and was 40.0% from behind the arc. They were 76.5% from the line. The Cardinals had a 41-38 lead on the glass, but the Terriers had the edge with eleven forced turnovers and six blocks.
Wofford will end the regular season next week with road games at Chattanooga on Wednesday night and at Furman on Saturday afternoon. The Furman game is sold-out and will be broadcast on SportSouth.
