Box Score Box Score (pdf)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – In a Sears BracketBuster contest, the Wofford men’s basketball team was defeated 77-59 by Charleston Southern at Buccaneer Field House on Saturday night. The Bucs were able to build a 16 point lead in the first half and the Terriers were not able to pull any closer than eight points in the second half.
Wofford is 17-12 overall and 10-6 in the SoCon. Charleston Southern is 17-10 overall with a 10-6 mark in Big South conference play. The Terriers were led by Kevin Giltner with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Brad Loesing added 13 points. The Bucs were led by Kelvin Martin, who on senior night had 27 points and 14 rebounds. Jeremy Sexton added 19 points for the Bucs.
“They played better than we did,” said head coach Mike Young. “The beat us fair and square. We just did not have that mental toughness that we normally have. We expected to play better than we did tonight. We look forward to turning this thing around and get back on track on Tuesday at Greensboro.”
The Terriers opened the scoring with a basket by Aerris Smith and took a 7-3 lead after a three pointer by Kevin Giltner at the 16:45 mark. With the score tied at seven, Karl Cochran stole a pass and took it in for a dunk. Charleston Southern would answer with the next five points, including a three by Jeremy Sexton, for a 12-9 lead with 13:04 on the clock in the first half. A three by Kevin Giltner ended a 7-0 run by the Bucs and cut the lead to 14-12 with eleven minutes remaining.
Charleston Southern hit back-to-back three pointers to push the lead to 22-12 with 8:35 remaining in the first half. The Bucs were able to control the next four minutes as they went up 33-15. Kevin Giltner hit his third three pointer of the night to cut the lead to 33-18 with 3:45 left in the first half. At the break, the Bucs held a 39-23 advantage as they made 14 free throws and held Wofford to 32.1% shooting.
In the second half, the Terriers were able to cut the lead to 43-30 after a long three by Kevin Giltner with 15:45 on the clock. Wofford made it a ten point game after a bucket by Drew Crowell for a 45-35 score with 13:08 remaining. A three by Kevin Giltner made it a 47-38 game a minute later. Mike Young picked up a technical foul with 11:38 remaining and the Bucs made both free throws.
A jumper by Kevin Giltner cut the lead to 51-43 at the eleven minute mark, but the Bucs scored the next seven points to push the score to 58-43 with nine minutes left. Wofford answered and scored the next five points, but Charleston Southern scored the next four for a 62-48 lead with 6:45 remaining. The Bucs were able to take a 69-50 lead after a three by Jeremy Sexton with 4:41 on the clock. Wofford was not able to pull any closer in the final minutes and the score was 77-59 in favor of Charleston Southern at the buzzer.
Brad Loesing scored 13 points and is at 996 for his career. Senior Joseph Tecklenburg missed the game with a broken finger.
Wofford shot 40.0% from the floor while Charleston Southern shot 41.1% overall. The Terriers were 6-of-23 from three, while the Bucs were 5-of-14 from behind the arc. Wofford was 13-of-23 from the free throw line, while Charleston Southern was 26-of-32 from the line. The Bucs had a 39 to 35 lead on the glass.
After a road game at UNC Greensboro on Tuesday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m., the final regular season contest will be on Saturday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. against Furman at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Furman game will be senior night for the Terriers – be there to help pack the house!
