CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Despite a career-high 27 points and seven made 3-pointers from freshman Fletcher Magee, the Wofford men's basketball team's rally came up short to Austin Peay State, 84-77, Tuesday night at Winfield Dunn Center.
 
Trailing by as many as 19 in the second half and still in an 18-point hole with 7:30 remaining, Magee sparked a 10-0 run with back-to-back triples. The Terriers stopped Austin Peay on five straight possessions and two more baskets by freshman Matthew Pegram and junior Jaylen Allen capped the run, making it an eight-point game with 4:09 still to play.
 
After Austin Peay went back in front by 11, Magee pulled up, made another from beyond the arc and was fouled. He converted the 4-point play to get it back to seven. A few possessions later, he got fouled again on a 3-point attempt and calmly buried all three free throws to whittle the Governor lead to five. His final 3-ball made it a four-point game, 78-74, with 59.7 seconds left.
 
The magic ran out. Wofford had two looks to cut Austin Peay's lead to a single possession, but both Magee and junior Eric Garcia saw their shots rim out. When it was over, the Governors hit 13 free throws in the final 3:20 to hang on for the win.
 
"Your best players have to be your best players and we are lacking that right now," said Wofford head coach Mike Young. "We've got to make the tough plays that this program has been built on and has been known for. There were loose balls rolling down guys' backs and rolling on the floor. We've got to come up with that ball. It's a precious possession."
 
It came down to defense. Wofford allowed Austin Peay to shoot nearly 70 percent (16-23) in the first half and the Governors ended the night shooting over 60 percent (26-43). It marked the third straight game a Terrier opponent shot 50 percent or better, and was the seventh such occasion in 11 games this season.
 
Sophomore Josh Robinson shot his way to a career-high 30 points for the Govs. He was 7-fof-9 from the field and set a new Winfield Dunn Center record by going a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line. Senior Chris Horton had 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. In doing so, he became just the second player in program history to record over 1,000 career rebounds. Terrell Thompson rounded out APSU's double-figure scorers with 10.
 
Though they suffered defensively, the Terriers had one of their best offensive games of the year. Wofford shot 10-of-20 in the first half and ended the night at 49.1 percent (28-57), including a 10-of-24 showing (41.7 percent) from 3-point range.
 
Magee led the offense by going 8-of-16 from the field and 7-of-11 from long range. He also hit all four of his free throw attempts, scoring the most points by a Terrier since Karl Cochran's 33 last January 5 at Chattanooga.
 
"Fletcher Magee was terrific. He was unbelievable," added Young. "We finally made an effort to screen bodies for him and get him open."
 
Young went on to commend the efforts of senior C.J. Neumann and sophomore Derrick Brooks. Neumann was tasked with guarding the 7-foot Horton the majority of the night, who entered the game averaging 18.5 points and ranked second in the country with 13.5 rebounds. Horton did go for 20 and 13, but Neumann kept the big man off the offensive glass with five defensive rebounds, limiting Horton to just three on the offensive end.
 
Brooks played a career-high 26 minutes and had a career-high five assists with zero turnovers.
 
Magee scored nine straight Wofford points on three consecutive triples to tie the game at 14 about midway through the first half. However, Wofford went on to turn it over 11 times in the first 20 minutes and Austin Peay took advantage by scoring 15 points off of those miscues. The Govs bullied Wofford down low to a 28-10 advantage in the paint and took high-percentage looks to lead 43-30 at the break.
 
The lead ballooned to 19 on a Robinson 3-pointer in the first 90 seconds of the second half. Austin Peay remained in front by double figures until Wofford's rally through the final 7:30.
 
The Terriers will head home for the holidays and report back to campus on December 27 in preparation for their next game against Harvard on New Year's Eve. Tip is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., at Lavietes Pavilion.
 
Terrier Notes:
- Fletcher Magee scored a career-high 27 points. It marked the second time this season he has come off the bench to score 20 or more.
- Derrick Brooks had a career-high five assists and a played a career-high 26 minutes.
- Justin Gordon scored 13 points, notching his ninth double-figure scoring game of the year.
- Cam Jackson scored a season-high seven points.
- Spencer Collins passed Ralph Hanna for sole possession of 18th on Wofford's all-time scoring list. He now has 1,363 career points.
- The Terriers are on their first four-game losing streak since losing five straight from Feb. 11-28 of 2008.
- It was the first meeting in program history between Wofford and Austin Peay.