SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford men's basketball team fell in the 2017-18 season opener to South Carolina, 73-52, in front of a sold out, electric crowd in the inaugural game in Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Friday night. Wofford falls to 0-1 on the season and the Gamecocks move to 1-0.
Wofford was held to its lowest score since a 53-48 loss at Western Carolina on Feb. 25, 2016.
"What South Carolina does defensively is so unique," said head coach
Mike Young. "They (South Carolina) play hard; they're hard to screen and it is hard to get balls into scoring areas. It was a tough night for the home team, but I've got a good club and we will be fine. Fortunately for us we won't face many teams with this much size going forward. "
South Carolina's Frank Booker scored the first basket of the game, draining a three pointer just over a minute in to the game. Wofford's Cameron Jackson scored four quick points to give Wofford a 4-3 lead, one of just two the Terriers would have in the game. Wofford led again, 12-11, after Fletcher Magee sunk a three pointer. Booker, however, responded with a jumper in the paint to put South Carolina ahead and the Gamecocks didn't trail the remainder of the game.
Magee led all scorers with 17 points on 7-17 shooting and 3-9 from beyond the arc. The junior, a Preseason All-SoCon pick, has scored in double-digits in 46 straight contests dating back to Jan.23, 2016.
Matthew Pegram finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. The junior center, who entered the game with one career three pointer, went a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc and 4-4 from the line. Cameron Jackson scored nine points and pulled in nine rebounds to finish just shy of a double-double. The Preseason All-Conference selection was 3-7 from the field in 27 minutes of play. Sophomore Nathan Hoover also finished with nine points in the loss.
Three of Wofford's four freshmen saw action. Storm Murphy, a guard from Middleton, Wisc., recorded four assists and zero turnovers off the bench.
As a team, Wofford shot 34% in the game while South Carolina shot 46.3%. Both teams shot 75% from the line, but the difference came beyond the arc. The Gamecocks returned just 6.4% of their three point production last season, yet sank 11 on the night to account for nearly half the team's point total. The Gamecocks, who have two 7 footers, used their height on the defensive end to keep Wofford's offensive production contained.
Four Gamecocks finished in double-digits, led by Maik Kotsar with 13 points. The 6-10 forward shot 50% from the field and dished out a team high four assists. Frank Booker scored 12 points in the win, and Wesley Myers and Felipe Haase each finished with 10.
Wofford returns to the court Sunday, Nov. 12 against Washington & Lee, also in Richardson Indoor Stadium. The meeting will be the first between the Terriers and the Generals.
