LUBBOCK, Texas – The Wofford men's basketball team outscored Texas Tech in the second half, but a 28 point halftime deficit was too much to overcome and the Terriers fell 79-56 in Lubbock on Wednesday night. With the loss, Wofford falls to 3-3, while Texas Tech remains undefeated at 5-0.
 
"This Texas Tech team is good," said head coach Mike Young. "They dismantled a great Northwestern team last week. They physically annihilated a top 20 team. I didn't think we played the way we were supposed to play, especially in the first half, but Texas Tech had a lot to do with that. They were quick to the ball and took us out of some things, but we did have some guys play some good basketball in the second half and that was encouraging."
 
Nathan Hoover led the Terriers with 16 points, all of which came in the second half of play. The sophomore shot 50% from the field and 60% from long distance. Hoover shot just 7.6 points per game in the first three contests this season, but has averaged 16 points in the last three. Fletcher Magee, the SoCon Player of the Week, followed with 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Magee was only 1-5 from beyond the arc but finished 5-11 from the floor and 3-3 from the free throw line.
 
Cameron Jackson scored eight and freshman Keve Aluma followed with six on 3-3 shooting. Jackson led Wofford with eight rebounds.
 
Ball security was an issue as the Terriers turned it over 21 times, the most turnovers by the Wofford offense in 16 games dating back to last season. Wofford had just seven assists – five from freshman Storm Murphy who played a season high 30 minutes.
 
"It's been a long time since Wofford's had a game with 21 turnovers and just seven assists and I hope it's a long time before we see it again," said Young about the uncharacteristic performance.
 
Wofford shot just 10% from three in the first half and 25% for the game, usually a big part of the Terriers' offense. A stingy Texas Tech defense held Wofford to just 38.9% shooting, Wofford's lowest shooting percentage since the season opener against South Carolina.  
 
The Terriers hung with the Red Raiders to begin the game. Aluma scored on a jumper at 13:02 to cut Texas Tech's lead to five at 17-12. However, it would be just over eight minutes before Wofford scored again on a jumper by Magee with 4:11 left in the half. The Red Raiders went on a 23-0 run during that span and led 50-22 at the break.
 
Hoover scored 10 straight points out of the half to pace the Wofford offense, but the Terriers never got closer than 19 and couldn't overcome the first half deficit.
 
Wofford held Keenan Evans, Texas Tech's leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, to just 12 points. Evans first basket didn't come until midway through the first half. However, freshman Jarrett Culver scored 21 points on 50% shooting in just 20 minutes of action.
 
The Terriers break for the Thanksgiving holiday and return to the court Sunday, Nov. 26 at UNC Asheville. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. from Kimmel Arena.