SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Senior
Storm Murphy and sophomore
Messiah Jones led all double-figure scorers for Wofford with 20-point performances, including a new career-high for Jones, to help move the Terriers back into the win column with an 81-67 victory over The Citadel at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Wednesday night.
The win erases a two-game skid for Wofford, moving to 10-5 in the Southern Conference and 13-8 overall. The loss drops the Bulldogs to 4-9 in-conference and 11-9 overall on the season.
"There's only one way we have to play, and that's really really tough-minded, nasty and, defensively, we've got to be connected in those ways," said head coach
Jay McAuley. "Rebounding, I thought we did enough. Could be better in some spots, but we made enough plays and I thought we contested for the most part."
"Again, in the late games, we kind of get a relaxing feel and we've got to fight that urge a little bit moving forward," added McAuley of the team's finish. "Overall, heck of a performance by the guys in white [jerseys]."
Four Terriers finished in double figures, led by senior
Storm Murphy with a game-high 26 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep (66.7%), while matching a season-high eight free throws (8-for-10). Murphy was just one helper shy from a double-double, also recording a game-high nine assists and pulling down six rebounds – a season-high for Murphy through conference play this season.
The performance marks Murphy's 18
th double-figure performance this season and his 14
th game hitting at least three 3-pointers, as the Middleton, Wisc. native averages 3.1 per SoCon contests – ranking second in the SoCon for 3-point field goals made in conference games.
Sophomore
Messiah Jones net a career-high 21 points on 10-of-16 from the field (62.5%) and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds on the night. The performance marks Jones' eighth in double figures this season, while pulling down at least five rebounds for the 11
th contest as the team's leading rebounder (5.2/g).
"We knew it was going to be a battle," said Jones of tonight's matchup. "We knew we had to hold them under their field goal average. We knew they were going to be running around, chasing a lot of screens and stuff like that … We knew it was going to be a battle, so we came out here and did what we had to do."
The Terriers were plus-nine on the boards for the contest, 39-30, while holding The Citadel – who's second in the nation for 3-point field goals per game (11.4) – to just 28.1 percent from beyond the arc on just 9-of-32.
Freshman
Max Klesmit continues to impress, recording 12 points for his third double-digit output over the last five games, as Klesmit set a new career-high with a 6-for-6 outing at the free-throw line, while registering a career-best four steals and dishing three assists in 26 minutes.
Classmate
Morgan Safford finished with 10 points on 50 percent shooting from the field (4-of-8), including two threes, and six rebounds to pair with two steals to round out Wofford's double-figure scorers.
Wofford caught fire from beyond the arc in the second half, connecting on 5-of-9 from 3-point range (55.6%) and 46.4 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes to finish shooting 45.8 percent, 40 percent from distance (10-of-25) and 85 percent from the line (17-for-20).
The first half was played tight by both sides through the opening 10 minutes of play, seeing five lead changes before Klesmit would drill a three with 6:31 left in the frame to give Wofford its final lead of the half at 25-22.
After a Hayden Brown finish from The Citadel, a
Messiah Jones transition layup fueled a seven-point spurt that was capped by a
Storm Murphy trey that forced the Bulldogs to talk things over by the under-4 media timeout, seeing Wofford lead 32-24.
Murphy then would dime
Messiah Jones and
Morgan Safford on back-to-back layups prior to mixing a Bulldogs defender in nailing a step-back 3-pointer as time expired to send the Terriers into the intermission with a 10-point lead, 39-29.
The Terriers wouldn't look back in the second half, though, The Citadel kept things competitive throughout the final 20 minutes, as the Bulldogs cut the margin to two out of the break (39-37) prior to Safford drilling a corner three, off the find from
Tray Hollowell, to keep a five-point cushion, 42-37.
Junior
Ryan Larson then followed, answering another Bulldogs score with a timely 3-pointer (47-39), as another Safford three-ball sparked an 8-0 run to swing the momentum and bust a 15-point lead by the 12:12 mark, 58-43. During the run, Murphy would dish to
Sam Godwin for a finish inside the paint, prior to Hollowell splashing a three from the left wing to cap the run with the double-digit advantage.
From there, the Terriers began to rally in scoring 13 of the following 20 points to bust its largest lead of the contest, after a Godwin dunk and Klesmit free throws, at 21 points, 71-50, with 6:02 to play. The Citadel wouldn't settle, though, using a brief 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 12, 71-59 (3:34).
A pair of free throws from Klesmit, along with a Klesmit steal that resulted in a wide-open Murphy lay on the other end, pushed the margin back to 16 (77-61), though, scores from The Citadel's Kaiden Rice and Hayden Brown then summoned an 11-point margin, 77-66, with 51 seconds left. Despite a final push from The Citadel, the Terriers would go on weather a late Bulldogs press in the final minute, holding on for the 81-67 win at the end of regulation.
Wofford dished 18 assists as a team in the contest, while its bench provided healthy contributions compared to The Citadel's, 16-2.
The Citadel finished 42.4 percent from the field (25-for-59) and 8-for-10 from the charity stripe, as three Bulldogs finished in double figures, led by Kaiden Rice (22), Hayden Brown (17) and Fletcher Abee (11).
Next, Wofford (13-8, 10-5 SoCon) prepare for a road matchup in Cullowhee, N.C., traveling to face the Western Carolina Catamounts (9-13, 2-11 SoCon) for a 1 p.m. matchup on Saturday, February 20.
