SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford Terriers welcomed William & Mary to the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium for its first game in the 2019 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, falling by one point after a layup from Bryce Barnes put the Tribe ahead 80-79 with just under four seconds to play.
Wofford, which held a four-point lead at halftime, trailed by eight points with under four minutes to play, but scored eight unanswered points to tie the game at 74-74 with 1:27 left on the clock. William & Mary would pull back ahead by four, but turnovers and fouls gave Wofford a 79-78 lead before Barnes made his only bucket of the night to send the Tribe home with the victory.
Storm Murphy and Nathan Hoover each scored 18 points, hitting three 3-pointers each and combining for a perfect 8-for-8 from the line, while senior Trevor Stumpe scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. The big men for William & Mary carried their team, as Andy Van Vliet and Nathan Knight each dropped 21 points, with Knight pulling down 11 rebounds. As a team, the Terriers shot 45.2 percent from the floor and 43.5 percent from 3-point range, turning the ball over just six times while forcing 10 from the Tribe.
"It was a hard-fought game," said Wofford head coach Jay McAuley. "Those are probably two of the most talented big guys we'll face all year as far as a duo, so it was a great lesson for us as far as how physical you have to play against guys like that."
The loss is Wofford's first of the year, falling to 2-1. The Terriers will hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Butler for a matchup with the Bulldogs in Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday at 8 p.m. as part of the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic.
"We're going to have to rebound better going on the road," McAuley said. "We'll get better at that. Every day is a new day for us. We look forward to going on the road and playing together as a team."
Stumpe started the game off with a bucket in the lane, but William & Mary jumped out to a 12-7 lead. Hoover would begin to make his presence, presence felt, converting a four-point play to pull Wofford to within one. Tray Hollowell scored a pair of buckets, including a deep 3-pointer that put the Terriers ahead 16-12.
Knight pulled the Tribe back even, hitting a fadeaway at the shot clock buzzer and layup in the paint to knot the game up at 19-19. Chevez Goodwin answered, forcing a miss and converting on the other end to give Wofford a five-point advantage. After William & Mary hit a pair of 3-pointers, Ryan Larson knocked down two free throws and Hoover found Stumpe who knocked down a triple just before time expired to send Wofford to the break up four (39-35).
"Both teams were exchanging blows throughout the game," said McAuley. "They've got some guys with some experience so we expected that tonight."
Goodwin was locked in to start the second, converting a feed from Larson, two free throws and blocking a shot as Wofford went up by five. The Tribe would find their shooting stroke, however, knocking down three 3-pointers to take a one-point lead. With Goodwin on the bench, William & Mary pushed its lead to seven, but Murphy and Hollowell each scored to make the deficit three.
Moments later, Hoover connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key, setting up an elbow jumper from Stumpe that found the teams square at 66-66. Knight and the Tribe took a 74-66 with 3:08 to play, Goodwin checked back in and immediately made an impact, feeding a cutting Stumpe before grabbing a rebound that would set up a Nathan Hoover 3-pointer that made the score 74-71 in favor of William & Mary.
Wofford would pressure the ball and force a turnover, leading to a transition three from Murphy to give each side 74 points with 1:14 to play. After Knight scored in the paint, Tyler Hamilton hit a pair of free throws that gave the Tribe a four-point advantage, but Murphy got fouled shooting a 3-pointer and calmly knocked down all three free throws to cut the lead to one.
On the ensuing inbounds, Wofford's full-court press forced a turnover, as Hoover got fouled going to the rim, hitting both free throws to make the score 79-78 with 11.9 seconds to play. Without any timeouts, William & Mary raced up the court and into the paint where Barnes ultimately made the game-winning after a heave from Murphy was no good.
