JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.- The Wofford College men's basketball team fell behind early as East Tennessee State used a 10-0 run to take a lead they would not relinquish. The Terriers cut the lead to ten points at halftime, but fell 77-52 on Wednesday night at Freedom Hall.
 
Jackson Paveletzke and Messiah Jones both scored 10 points to lead the Terriers, who are now 13-11 overall and 5-6 in the SoCon. Jalen Haynes and Jordan King led ETSU (9-15, 5-6) in scoring with 22 points, as Haynes was 10-of-11 from the floor. King added a team leading six assists for the Buccaneers.
 
After an early Messiah Jones bucket gave Wofford a 2-0 lead, ETSU hit eight of their first ten shots from the floor as they built a 25-9 advantage. A 7-0 run by the Terriers would cut that deficit to 25-16 with under eight minutes to play in the half, but the Bucs had a 36-26 lead at the break.
 
In the second half the ETSU lead slowly swelled to 20 points at the midpoint of the half as ETSU opened up the game. The lead would grow as large as 31 points before Wofford was able to score the final six points in the contest for the 77-52 margin.
 
"I'd be lying if I said this was something I expected," interim head coach Dwight Perry said. "You win as a team and you lose as a team and this loss is on everybody. It's not on one player, it's not on a group of players, it's not on just one coach, just the coaching staff, or just the players. As a program we didn't do what we needed to get the job done tonight. That's something we have to collectively accept, correct and get better at so we can put our best foot forward on Saturday."
 
ETSU shot 9-of-23 from three in the game while Wofford struggled, making only 3-of-21 attempts. Overall the Bucs shot 61.9% from the field and the Terriers were at 42.6%.
 
"That wasn't Wofford basketball and credit to East Tennessee State," said Perry. "I'd be remised if I didn't give them credit. Coach Oliver and their team did a really good job tonight."
 
Quick Hits

• ETSU shot 32-52 (61.5%) from the field, while Wofford shot 23-54 (42.6%).
• Terriers went 3-10 from the free-throw line and the Buccaneers went 4-9. Wofford did not take a free throw in the first half.
• The Bucs had a 35 to 27 advantage on the boards.

Up Next
Wofford will travel to Greenville and take on the Furman Paladins at 6 P.M. on Saturday. It will be a doubleheader at Bon Secours Wellness Arena with the women's team taking on the Paladins at 3 P.M.