Box Score Game Box (pdf)
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Wofford men’s basketball team was defeated 63-49 by Georgia Southern on Thursday night at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Terriers struggled from behind the three point line and from the free throw line, shooting near season lows in both categories. Drew Crowell had his second double-double of the season.
Wofford is 15-11 overall and 8-6 in the SoCon. Georgia Southern is 12-12 overall with a 10-4 mark in conference play and are in second place in the South Division. The Terriers were led by Brad Loesing with 13 points. Drew Crowell had a career-high 14 rebounds and had 12 points. Eric Ferguson had a double-double for the Eagles, leading the team with 15 points and adding eleven rebounds. Willie Powers scored 14 for Georgia Southern.
“This is as disappointing as I could imagine walking out of here tonight,” said head coach Mike Young. “It was just not very good basketball. Georgia Southern had something to do with that. They played like they had more on the line than we did and that is hard to comprehend. I believe strongly in our team and we still have a lot to play for. We need to play better on Saturday.”
The Eagles scored first on a three and were able to take a 9-2 lead four minutes into the contest. Wofford scored the next four points to make it a 9-6 game, but Georgia Southern answered with a 7-2 run to take a 16-8 advantage with 11:25 on the clock. A floater in the lane by Brad Loesing and a banked three pointer by Kevin Giltner cut the lead to 18-13 with 9:30 remaining. After Wofford cut the lead to three points, the Eagles hit a three for a 21-15 lead with eight minutes on the clock.
Brad Loesing hit a three from the top of the circle which cut the score to 22-18 with seven minutes left in the first half. The Eagles pushed the lead back to nine points at 29-20 with 4:17 on the clock. Wofford scored the final four points of the half, holding the Eagles scoreless for four minutes to make it a 29-24 game at the break.
To open the second half, the teams traded dunks. The Eagles then went on a 7-0 run to take a 38-26 lead with 16:30 on the clock. Wofford answered with a quick four points to cut the advantage to 38-30, but the Eagles ran off the next seven points for a 45-30 lead as the Terriers called a time out. Georgia Southern pushed the run to 9-0 before Aerris Smith scored for Wofford. Two Brad Loesing free throws made it a 48-36 game with 9:29 on the clock.
Georgia Southern added a three for a 51-36 lead before Brad Loesing hit a jumper with 8:35 remaining in the second half. With four minutes left, the Eagles pushed the lead to 57-40 after three straight shots by Eric Ferguson. Wofford scored the next four points to cut the advantage to 57-44 with two minutes left in the game. Down the stretch, the Eagles hit six of eight free throws. Lee Skinner hit a three for Wofford with four seconds left for the 63-49 final score.
Wofford shot 40.4% from the floor while Georgia Southern shot 48.0% overall. The Terriers were 3-of-1 from three, while the Eagles were 7-of-13 from behind the arc. Wofford was 4-of-15 from the free throw line, while Georgia Southern was 8-of-14 from the line. The Terriers had a 35-34 lead in rebounds.
The Eagles have won nine straight home games this season. The loss ended a six-game win streak in the series by Wofford. The Terriers have lost three straight games for the first time since December of 2009. Brad Loesing played most of the final eleven minutes of the game with four fouls.
The Terriers complete the three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon at Appalachian State in a 2:00 p.m. contest. The next home game will be Wednesday, February 15 against Elon at 7:00 p.m.
