SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College men's basketball team was defeated by a 73-64 score by UNCG on Saturday afternoon at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Spartans had a four-point lead at the half and built an 18-point advantage in the second half before the Terriers cut it to single digits in the final minute.
The Terriers' record is now 8-7 overall and 0-2 in the Southern Conference, while the Spartans are 8-7 overall and 2-0 in the league. The Spartans had 12 three-pointers in the game and forced turnovers 17 Wofford turnovers.
For Wofford,
B.J. Mack had 20 points and five rebounds, which included three three-pointers.
Corey Tripp led the team with eight rebounds. The Spartans had 19 points from Keondre Kennedy and 16 points from Keyshaun Langley, while Mikeal Brown-Jones had a game-high eleven rebounds.
"We have a young team and UNCG has a veteran team but once the ball is tipped that goes out the window," said interim head coach
Dwight Perry. "As a team we do a really good job of playing hard, playing tough, playing together and doing the things that we work on in practice in small pockets. In certain games we do it in bigger pockets but the reality is as a team we have to get better at sustaining for the full 40 minutes. We have to trust the process and trust in each other. This is a very resilient group and we have hit a few roadblocks along the way. This will not be the last time but I have no doubt that this group that we have will respond."
The Spartans opened the game with a three-pointer, but Wofford took the lead on a lay-up by
Messiah Jones and a three-pointer by
B.J. Mack. After the game was tied at five,
B.J. Mack added another three for an 8-5 lead four minutes into the first half. A bucket by
Jackson Paveletzke made it 10-5, but the Spartans had an 11-2 run for a 16-12 advantage with 12:20 on the clock. UNCG lead extended to 23-18 as they had six three-pointers in the first eleven minutes.
Adam Silas had a bucket and a free throw was added by
B.J. Mack for a 25-21 score with four minutes left in the half. After another three by the Spartans, Wofford answered with a lay-up by
Jackson Sivills. The Spartans hit another three, followed by a three by
Jackson Paveletzke with sixty seconds left for a 31-26 margin.
B.J. Mack hit a three on the last possession of the half for Wofford as the lead was cut to 33-29 at the break.
Wofford was able to cut the lead to three points twice early in the second half, but after the first five minutes the Spartans held a 44-36 lead.
Adam Silas had a pair of free throws before the Spartans had a 7-0 run to build a 51-38 advantage with 11:32 on the clock.
B.J. Mack ended the run with a bucket but the Spartans scored the next four points. A three by
Jackson Sivills made it a 55-43 game with nine minutes remaining in the half. Three minutes later, the Spartan's had extended their lead to 65-47. Wofford answered with the next six points to cut the lead to 65-53 with 3:14 left in the game. At the 2:09 mark, things got out of hand after a foul under the Wofford basket and a total of five technical fouls were called with four of them for deadball contact.
Jackson Paveletzke hit three-of-four free throws after the scuffle to make it a 67-56 game. With sixty seconds remaining,
Carson McCorkle hit a jumper for a 67-58 score. The Terriers chipped away at the lead and a bucket by
Messiah Jones in the final seconds provided the 73-64 margin.
Quick Hits
- It was the 53rd meeting between the two teams, with the Terriers holding a 32-21 lead in the series.
- From three, Wofford shot 25% (6-of-24) while UNCG was at 38.7% (12-of-31). It was the second straight game an opponent had ten or more three pointers and the most by an opponent this season.
- The Terriers were 12-of-15 (80.0%) from the free throw line. UNCG was 13-of-16 (81.3%).
- Wofford out-rebounded UNCG by a 41 to 33 margin, including eleven offensive boards for the Terriers.
- The Spartans forced the Terriers to turn the ball over 17 times, the second-most this season. The Spartans scored 16 points off those turnovers.
- Wofford has started conference play 0-2 for the second-straight season. Last year they were 10-8 overall after a 1-3 start in the league.
Up Next
The Terriers will play the first road conference game of the season on Wednesday, January 4, at Mercer (7-8, 0-2 SoCon) with both teams searching for their first league win.
