MACON, Ga. – With 0.7 seconds left on the clock and trailing by one point,
Jackson Paveletzke hit a shot to give the Wofford College men's basketball team a 53-52 win over Mercer at Hawkins Arena on Wednesday night. The Bears used a 6-0 run late in the second half to take a three-point lead, but a pair of free throws by
B.J. Mack and the Paveletzke bucket provided the final score.
The Terriers' record improves to 9-7 overall and 1-2 in the Southern Conference, while the Bears are 7-9 overall and 0-3 in the league.
For Wofford,
Jackson Paveletzke had 12 points to lead the team along with five rebounds.
Corey Tripp added 11 points and
Messiah Jones had a game-high seven rebounds. The Bears were led by Jalyn McCreary with 16 points and David Craig with six rebounds.
"That was a definition of a program victory," said interim head coach
Dwight Perry. "At the end of the day, you can't win a game by less than one point. Everything that was poured into this game, whether it was practice, shoot-around, film sessions or the guys communicating amongst each other, it all contributed to the win tonight. For our team, which is one of the youngest teams in the country, to battle back and find a way to gut it out is a credit to everyone in that locker room. We are fortunate to get out of here with a win and we will use this as confidence to apply to a really good The Citadel team on Saturday."
The Bears scored first and after five minutes of play the game was tied at seven. A three-pointer by
Carson McCorkle had the score tied at ten and with 8:32 left in the first half a jumper by
Corey Tripp gave the Terriers a 16-15 advantage. It stayed a one-possession game, with teams trading the lead over the final eight minutes of play.
Jackson Paveletzke gave Wofford a 28-27 lead with 26 seconds left which was the margin at the break.
Mercer regained the lead by making the first bucket of the second half.
Corey Tripp hit a long three-pointer to give the Terriers a 33-32 lead three minutes into the half. The Bears answered with a quick 5-0 run for a 37-33 lead before a jumper by
Jackson Paveletzke cut the lead to 37-35 with 15:10 on the clock. Wofford was able to tie the game at 41 with 11:44 remaining in the half. Back-to-back lay-ups by
B.J. Mack and
Messiah Jones enabled the Terriers to take a 49-46 advantage with five minutes remaining. The Bears answered with a 6-0 run to go up 52-49 with two minutes to play.
B.J. Mack made a pair of free throws with 46 seconds on the clock to make it a one-point game at 52-51. Mercer missed a shot with 15 seconds left and a jumper in the paint by
Jackson Paveletzke with 0.7 seconds on the clock gave Wofford the 53-52 win.
"Coach said in the huddle that is we get a miss we are going to run with it," said
Jackson Paveletzke on the final sequence. "Obviously it wasn't my hottest shooting game but down the stretch my teammates really trusted me. I came off a screen from Messiah, turned the corner and made a play. It was a great team win and we fought all the way to the end."
Quick Hits
- It was the 56th meeting between the two teams, with the Terriers holding a 31-25 lead in the series.
- From three, Wofford shot 15.4% (2-of-13) while Mercer was at 30.0% (3-of-10).
- The Terriers were 7-of-9 (77.8%) from the free throw line. Mercer was 11-of-15 (73.3%).
- Mercer out-rebounded Wofford by a 35 to 30 margin.
- B.J. Mack had eight points in the game, ending a streak of 33 straight games in double figures.
- The win was the first for the Terriers in the SoCon this season and the first conference road win.
Up Next
The Terriers return home on Saturday, January 7, as they host The Citadel at 7:00 p.m.
