MACON, Ga. – Senior
Storm Murphy became the 50
th Terrier to join the Wofford men's basketball 1,000-point club on Tuesday night, as Wofford picked up its first SoCon win of the season over the Mercer Bears (7-2, 0-1 SoCon) at Hawkins Arena, 78-65. The victory marks the first road win of the season for the Terriers, moving to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the Southern Conference.
"It was a collective effort," said head coach
Jay McAuley. "Our staff, the assistant coaches that put a lot of time into this, really were spot on and I think our guys believed in it, as they've been doing quite a bit often this year. Defensively, to hold them underneath 40 percent … to come in here, we knew if we held them under 70 [points] for the first time this year, we'd come out of here with a win and we certainly did that."
Wofford held Mercer to its lowest scoring total (65) and field goal percentage (.397) achieved this season for the statement road win, as the Terriers finished shooting 47.1 percent from the field (32-68) and connected on 9-of-30 from beyond the arc (30%).
The Bears were ranked 11th in the Collegeinsider.com Mid Major Top 25 heading into Tuesday night's contest.
Murphy led all double-figure scorers for the Terriers with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes of action.
"It was an awesome combo to have starting conference play," said Murphy of hitting the 1,000-point milestone en route to Wofford's first SoCon win. "Of course, the win was most important. It was all we were focused on coming into this game and we're going to let this momentum fuel us forward."
"It's a reflection on how great this program has been over the years," added Murphy of the milestone. "My teammates and coaches have believed in me since I was a freshman and for that, I'm very thankful."
Junior
Ryan Larson tallied a career performance on the night, recording career-highs of 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting and nine rebounds, along with four assists in 33 minutes, while senior
Tray Hollowell rounds out the double-figure scorers, adding 13 points with a 3-for-5 showing from beyond the arc (60%), three rebounds and four assists.
The Terriers received healthy contributions across the board, as freshmen
Morgan Safford and
Max Klesmit tallied nine points each. Additionally, Safford matched a career-high seven rebounds, while sophomore
Messiah Jones finished with eight points, five rebounds and two assists and freshman
Sam Godwin added six points and four rebounds.
The Terriers led for 39:35 of the contest, receiving 19 points from its bench compared to Mercer's two, while also winning the rebound battle over the Bears, 43-37.
Wofford used balance scoring to pace the Terriers in the first half, as Hollowell and Jones got things going for Wofford to open a 9-3 lead before Murphy would score the next six points, eclipsing the 1,000-point mark on a pull-up jumper, to hold a 15-7 lead. A
Max Klesmit three from Hollowell and a
B.J. Mack slam then capped a 7-0 run to force a Mercer timeout up 20-7 by the 11:57 mark. Wofford continued to pour it in, scoring 10 of the next 17 points on 3-pointers from
Morgan Safford and
Ryan Larson, along with scores from Hollowell and
Sam Godwin, to bust out its largest lead of the half, 30-14, with 7:15 left.
A 7-0 swing by the Bears brought the margin within nine (30-21) before Safford would answer the Mercer run with his second trey of the half. The Bears then chipped away, bringing the margin to as close as four points, though, a Hollowell finish and buzzer-beating layup from Klesmit held a 41-33 cushion for the Terriers at the intermission.
The Bears opened the second half closing the gap to four (43-39) before a 7-0 swing, fueled by a Larson layup, Safford three and
Sam Godwin and-one, brought the margin back to double digits, 50-39, by the 12:49 mark. Mercer continued to slowly climb back, paced by scores from Ross Cummings and Felipe Haase, forcing a two-possession game with 5:45 left (60-56), though, it would be the closest the Bears would get for the remainder of the contest.
It would be all Wofford for the rest of the way, as
Tray Hollowell and
Ryan Larson would corral a pair of timely scores on back-to-back threes that highlighted an 11-0 run to bust the spread back to 15 points, 71-56, with 3:45 left. From there, the Terriers remained in the driver's seat, extending a lead as large as 19 points with a minute left, before a pair of last-minute threes for Mercer concluded the contest at 78-65.
Wofford corralled 38 points inside the paint and 15 second chance points on the night, while also forcing 12 Mercer turnovers in return for 16 points. The Bears finished with three scorers in double figures, led by Ross Cummings with 21 points and six rebounds. Leon Ayers III finished with 15 points and six rebounds, followed by Felipe Haase with 13 points and five rebounds.
Next, the Terriers return back to Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, hosting the Samford Bulldogs on Saturday, January 2 for a 7 p.m. tip.
