CLINTON, S.C. – The Wofford men's basketball team (1-2) lost a tough 71-68 battle to the Presbyterian Blue Hose (2-2) at the Templeton Center on Wednesday night. The Terriers shot a blistering 55.6 percent from the field in the first half despite losing the game.
 
Wofford finished the night with four double-digit scorers led by a 15-point outing from Corey Tripp. Jackson Sivills followed with 13 points along with Jeremy Lorenz posting 11. Justin Bailey rounded out the group with 10 points. Tripp also finished the night with a season-high six assists.
 
The Terriers took the edge on the glass, outrebounding PC 36-28 including 10 offensive rebounds that were converted into nine second chance points. Kyler Filewich paced the team with 10 boards for his third-straight game with double-digit rebounds. Wofford scored 32 points in the paint against the Blue Hose compared to 26 by PC.
 
Presbyterian won the turnover battle, forcing 12 Terrier turnovers that resulted in 13 points. Wofford forced nine Blue Hose turnovers but swiped seven steals. Justin Bailey led the squad with three steals.
 
It was a slow start for the Terriers, as the team did not score its first points until almost four minutes into the game. The defense held true, though, only allowing four points in the first four minutes of action. Corey Tripp found Dillon Bailey for the first bucket of the night for the team, followed by a triple from Tripp to take an early 5-4 lead. After both teams traded baskets, the Terriers would score eight unanswered points to take a commanding 13-7 lead with 13:24 remaining in the first half.
 
The Blue Hose kept the game within striking distance until right under the five-minute mark, when Belal El Shakery found a cutting Jeremy Lorenz for an emphatic slam dunk. The Terriers built off the momentum, extending their lead to 11 points off a three-pointer from freshman Luke Flynn. After a couple of good jumpers, along with a pair of free throws made by PC, Wofford would hold a 40-32 lead heading into the break.
 
The Terriers closed the half shooting the ball at a 55.6 percent (15-27) clip which is a season high. The team stayed true at the charity stripe, too, shooting 6-of-7, including a perfect 4-of-4 out of Corey Tripp. Wofford held Presbyterian to just 44 percent (11-25) shooting and 33.3 percent (3-9) from deep.
 
The second half was opened with a scorching-hot Jackson Sivills. The senior guard hit back-to-back three pointers to start the final 20 minutes of action and get the lead back up to 11 points. Presbyterian then embarked on a miniature five-to-nothing run to close the gap to just six points. Jeremy Lorenz ended a 2:10 scoring drought with a turnaround jumper.
 
Presbyterian found its rhythm from deep, as Kobe Stewart hit back-to-back triples in what was his own seven-point run. Justin Bailey put a stop to the Blue Hose fun with a tough layup to give Wofford a 50-47 lead with 13:00 remaining. Stewart, however, hit his fourth trey ball of the half to knot the game up at 50-all for the first tie since a 2-2 deadlock at the beginning of the game.
 
Jackson Sivills followed the barrage from deep with a basket on the other end, but the Terriers would go cold from there on out. The team did not find the bottom of the net for the next 6:56 of game time. Presbyterian capitalized on the scoring drought, going on a 10-point run to take an eight-point lead with 7:27 left in regulation.
 
The Blue Hose continued to have an answer for every attack from Wofford, as the team went up by as many as nine points at one time. Despite trailing 70-63 with 37 seconds left on the clock, Wofford would still find itself with a chance to take it into overtime.
 
Corey Tripp led the attack with a quick layup to shorten the deficit to five points with 33 seconds remaining. The Terriers strung together a couple of stops, leading to a corner three from Justin Bailey to cut the Blue Hose lead to two points with eight seconds left. After a quick foul to send a PC player to the line, the team trailed by three points with the forward only hitting the front end of the pair of free throws. Tripp received the inbound pass and pushed the ball up to the left side of the court for a deep three point shot to tie the game, but the attempt was just off the mark, ultimately losing 71-68.
 
Wofford will be back in action on Saturday, November 16, as the team will take on Duke University at the historic Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game is set for 12:00 pm and can be watched on the ACC Network.