ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Nathan Hoover scored 17 second-half points and Wofford knocked down 16 3-pointers to defeat the 10th-seeded The Citadel 93-76 at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville on Friday night.
With the win, Wofford improves to 17-15 on the season, and advances to the quarterfinal round of the SoCon Tournament where it will face the No. 2-seeded Furman Paladins on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.
"I am really proud of our guys," said Wofford head coach Jay McAuley. "We came into the locker room and really enjoyed that win. It was a collective win. Everyone stepped up in their own way at different positions."
The Terriers were extremely efficient from the floor, shooting 56.5 percent while shooting 51.6 percent from 3-point range. Wofford also dominated the glass, grabbing 39 rebounds to The Citadel's 22 while holding the Bulldogs to just eight assists. The 17-point victory also snapped Wofford's seven-game losing streak and will give the Terriers a chance to take the season series from Furman on Saturday.
"I have a lot of respect for Coach [Duggar Baucom] and the staff over there," McAuley said of The Citadel. "Their kids fought hard, and it is not easy to lose in their tournament and have your season end. I have a lot of respect for them, and our players do as well."
Hoover led the Terriers with 17 total points, while Chevez Goodwin (15), Trevor Stumpe (11), Storm Murphy (10) and Messiah Jones (10) all reached double-figures, with Jones and Tray Hollowell each snagging seven rebounds.
"Getting a win feels great, and we can enjoy it for a little bit tonight, but we have to get ready for a great game tomorrow," Hoover said. "We know Furman is going to come out and play as hard as they can, and we know we are going to come out and go right back at them. We need to use this momentum to keep it rolling."
"It has been seven games since we have won a game, so it feels great getting a win, especially in the SoCon tournament," Goodwin said. "I think we can build off this and go in tomorrow and do the same thing."
Murphy and Goodwin were keyed in early, combining for 11 of Wofford's first 13 points. Second chance points would put Wofford ahead, with Jones feeding Isaiah Bigelow for a three and Goodwin slamming home a rebound as the Terriers took an 18-13 lead. The freshman duo continued to make an impact, extending the Wofford lead to eight after a Bigelow transition 3-pointer. Ryan Larson, Hollowell, Murphy and Stumpe would all connect from downtown and Jones slammed home a feed from Hollowell to send the Terriers went into the locker room leading 51-32.
After going scoreless in the first half, Hoover found his groove at the start of the second, converting a four-point play and knocking down a 3-pointer as Wofford pushed its advantage to 23. Fletcher Abee and the Bulldogs would rally, cutting the deficit to 13 until a three from Stumpe made the score 69-53 with just over 11 minutes to play.
After The Citadel cut the lead back to 13, Murphy scored in the lane and found Stumpe in transition for a knock-down three as the Terriers grabbed the momentum back. From here, Hoover would help close out the game, converting in the layup and three-point play as Wofford would take the contest 93-76.
"I know I have a tough squad coming in tomorrow," McAuley said of Furman. "But we are a resilient bunch. We are going to come in with a lot of confidence but respecting our opponent, as we always do, but we are going to come in and fight. That is what Wofford does. We love being here in Asheville."
