SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Messiah Jones recorded his first career double-double as the Wofford men's basketball team welcomed VMI to Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Wednesday night, defeating the Keydets 66-54.
The Terriers held VMI to just 25.9 percent shooting from 3-point range and 35.2 percent shooting from the floor, shooting 42.9 percent from the field and outrebounding the Keydets 35-27.
"We took care of business," said Wofford head coach Jay McAuley. "Sure some things didn't go our way with some easy baskets, but to hold that team to 25 percent from three and 35 percent from the field, we're getting better and we're going to hit more shots of our own moving forward."
Jones led Wofford with 15 points, grabbing 10 rebounds to record his first ever double-double as a Terrier. Nathan Hoover (14), Tray Hollowell (12) and Chevez Goodwin (10) all reached double figures, while Storm Murphy totaled six points and four assists.
"It feels really nice, but I couldn't have done it without my teammates and coaches," Jones said of his double-double. "My teammates gave me the ball and our coaches ran the right plays and we got the victory out there."
The win, which is Wofford's seventh straight at home, gives the Terriers a 13-7 overall record, improving to 5-2 in Southern Conference play. With the loss, VMI falls to 6-15 and 1-7 in SoCon play.
Goodwin scored on the first possession of the game and a pair of feeds from Murphy to Jones gave Wofford an early 9-1 lead. After a timeout, VMI began to knock down the three ball, cutting the deficit to six around the midway point of the half.
Hollowell would catch fire, hitting four straight 3-pointers to push the lead to 13 with just over six minutes to play. The Keydets clawed back, cutting the deficit to nine but Hoover and Stumpe both connected from downtown to five Wofford a 12-point advantage at the break (39-27).
"He hit three or four threes, and looked good, looked in rhythm," McAuley said of Hollowell. "Guys have been in the gym working, and when they see that ball go in the net it's a game changer."
It was a slow start to the second half, but Hoover would get a pair of driving layups to push the lead to 16. VMI would rally and make the score 56-46 with 7:18 to play in the second, but Wofford would answer with a pair of buckets down low from Jones to extend the lead back to 13.
"He came in and gave us a shot in the arm," said McAuley of Jones. "And Chevez followed suit. Double-doubles is what we've been preaching to those guys, and they do it by committee."
The Keydets would not go down easily, as Greg Parham drove the lane and scored to cut the deficit to 10 points with 3:20 left in the contest. Before VMI could draw closer, Stumpe fed Goodwin down low for a slam and Murphy hit the big man in transition the next time down to help close out the game.
Wofford returns to the court on Saturday, traveling to Cullowhee for a matchup with Western Carolina at 7 p.m.
"Any game on the road in this league is going to be a challenge," McAuley said. "It's going to be the same approach and the same mentality. We're going to have the confidence to go in there and get the job done against a very good ball club and a coach I really respect."
