SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A career-high 18 points from Messiah Jones helped lift the Wofford Terriers to an 81-77 victory over Gardner-Webb at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Saturday night.

The Terriers outrebounded the Runnin' Bulldogs 33-27 in the contest, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 87.5 percent from the free-throw stripe, holding Gardner-Webb to just 20.8 percent from 3-point range (5-for-24).

"I thought we did a good job of having a plan but making adjustments throughout the game," said Wofford head coach Jay McAuley. "They got some foul shots, but to hold them to five threes was a huge difference in the game."

Jones, a redshirt freshman from Chicago, Illinois, also tied his career high with seven rebounds, while Tray Hollowell and Storm Murphy each totaled 16 points. Trevor Stumpe scored a season-high 14 points on Saturday, matching his career-high of four 3-pointers in the win.  

"People don't understand, the guy has been playing 50 percent for the first month and a half with back spasms," McAuley said of Jones. "Our personal trainer, who is a miracle worker, has been working with him the last two weeks and you saw his bounce today and what he can do. He's gotten better and better and we're really excited about the future for him."

With its third consecutive win, Wofford now sits at 5-4 overall this season. The Terriers will have a six-day layoff, capping off their three-game homestand against North Greenville on Friday (7 p.m.)

Gardner-Webb jumped out to an early five-point advantage when Hollowell and Hoover each knocked down threes and Jones drew a pair of fouls on Kareem Reid as Wofford cut the deficit to one. Hollowell connected on his second three and fed Stumpe minutes later to put the Terriers ahead 22-17 at the midway point of the first.

Chevez Goodwin began to go to work down low, scoring back-to-back buckets to push the lead to five. Stumpe connected from downtown before Jones and Storm drew fouls as the Terriers went ahead 40-29. Goodwin was locked in down the stretch, blocking a shot and sprinting down the court for a slam to make the score 46-31. Jones would add another bucket down low, giving him 12 points as Wofford took a 48-37 lead into the break.

"I felt pretty good coming into the game," Jones said. "I've been battling injuries this year, but I just got into the gym and worked on my game, and I have to really credit my teammates, but things eventually started to work out for me."

The Runnin' Bulldogs came out firing in the second, scoring eight unanswered to start the half. The teams went back and forth, with Stumpe draining his second trey of the game to make the lead eight. After Gardner-Webb cut the lead to four, Stumpe knocked down another 3-pointer to give Wofford a 64-57 lead with just over seven minutes to play.

With Gardner-Webb in the bonus, the Terriers clung to a one-point lead before a Jones putback slam made the score 69-66. Moments later, Murphy pumped and dished to Stumpe who connected from downtown again, extending the lead to six with 1:56 left. With the Runnin' Bulldogs refusing to go away, the game would come down to the free-throw line, as Larson and Hollowell went 5-fo-6 down the stretch to help seal the game for Wofford.

"I think games like this builds a little callous to us," McAuley said. "We're facing a lot of different things that we'll have to be battle-tested for in league play. We're learning, we're growing and our chemistry is getting better and better, so I'm excited about that."

Quick Hits

• Wofford's three-game win streak is its longest this season
• Career-high 18 points for Messiah Jones
• Season-high 14 points for Trevor Stumpe
• Fifth multi-block game of the season for Chevez Goodwin with two on Saturday