Box Score Game Box (pdf)
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford men’s basketball team was defeated 76-55 by Iona at the Hynes Center. The Terriers were down by four at the half, but the Gaels shot 68% from the floor in the second half to put the game away.
Wofford is 1-2 to open the season. Iona is 1-1 after reaching the NCAA Tournament last season. Spencer Collins led the Terriers with 23 points, one shy of his career-high. Lee Skinner had ten rebounds. The Gaels were led by Season Armand with 20 points. Isaiah Williams had 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from behind the three point arc and eight rebounds.
“They have some really good players,” said head coach Mike Young. “The pace and tempo of the game was a big deal for us coming in. We could not play fast against a team like this on the road. I thought we did a heck of a job taking care of the ball. I thought we did some nice things and shot selection was very good in the first half. In the second half we had good shots, but we missed a number of them and Iona did not. There is a lot to be encouraged by, but we are still feeling our way through.”
The Terriers had an early 5-1 lead after a three pointer by Spencer Collins. A dunk by Collins at the 15:09 mark gave Wofford a 7-4 lead. After Iona tied the game at nine with 12:27 on the clock, a three by Spencer Collins made it a 12-11 lead for the Terriers. Iona answered with a three for a 14-12 advantage at the midpoint of the first half.
With under six minutes left, two free throws gave Iona a 22-15 lead. Two free throws by Spencer Collins and two lay-ups by Justin Gordon cut the score to 24-21 at the 4:10 mark, but once again the Gaels answered with a three pointer. Three pointers by Zac Grossenbacher and Karl Cochran made it a 31-29 game with 1:33 left in the half, but Iona took a 35-31 lead at the break.
To open the second half, Spencer Collins made it a two-point game. The Gaels had a 39-36 lead after three minutes of action. C.J. Neumann had a lay-up and a free throw at the 13:37 mark for a 44-39 score, but just two minutes later the Iona lead was 54-43. Over the next five minutes, the Gaels hit three three-pointers and pushed the lead to 67-49 with 5:39 remaining. Karl Cochran hit a three, however Iona scored the next nine points and led 76-52 with one minute remaining. Zac Grossenbacher made a three pointer with 32 seconds left to make it a 76-55 final score.
Wofford shot 42.0% from the floor while Iona shot 46.4% overall. The Terriers were 6-of-21 from with three, while the Gaels were 9-of-23 from behind the arc. Iona was 15-of-18 from the line while Wofford was 7-of-9 on free throws. Iona had a 37 to 24 lead on the glass. Wofford had 14 turnovers on the night, while Iona had eleven.
Wofford will travel to Minnesota on Thursday for a 7:00 pm (ET) contest against the Gophers in historic Williams Arena. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
