ST. LOUIS – The Wofford men's basketball team (5-7) pulled out a gutsy 74-71 road win over Saint Louis (6-5) on Wednesday night at the Chaifetz Arena. The Terriers shot an astounding 63 percent from the field in the second half on the way to their first road win of the season.
 
"Our guys work really hard," said head coach Dwight Perry. "I am really proud every single guy continuing to fight and stay with it. Every single person had a hand in this game and had a positive impact. This was a program win. All we have done these last two days is double-down on our culture, and it was good to see it pay off tonight."
 
Wofford finished the game at 50 percent (29-58) from the field for its third game this season at or above the 50 percent mark. The team knocked down six threes as well. Saint Louis had a hot first half, but the Terriers held the team in check during the second half. The Billikens finished the night 46.7 percent (21-45) from the field while knocking down nine threes at a 37.5 percent clip. The free throw line was an issue for the Billikens, who shot 57.1 percent on 35 attempts to miss a total of 15 shots from the charity stripe.
 
The Terriers were led by three double-digit outings, including a season-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting by Corey Tripp. The senior guard added four rebounds and five assists to his stellar night. Kyler Filewich followed behind with 15 points to make it five out of the last six games he has scored in double-figures. Jeremy Lorenz rounded out the group with 13 markers off the bench. The team tallied 15 assists on 29 made baskets with Tripp and Lorenz pacing the team with five and four assists, respectively.
 
"We came out and got it done in the second half," said Corey Tripp on the big second half from the Terriers. "The game plan was to attack on offense, get downhill, and make them guard. We have had a lot of ups and downs in our non-conference action. For us to come out and here and get a great win means a lot heading into the break."
 
The Terriers won the battle on the glass, outrebounding SLU 36-30 – seven of which were offensive. Kyler Filewich led the way with 11 rebounds to tally his second-straight double-double and his fifth of the season. Kahmare Holmes chipped in five off the bench. Wofford proved too much in the paint as well, scoring 38 points compared to 24 by the Billikens.
 
Wofford committed a season-low four turnovers on the night to win the turnover battle. That is the least amount by the team since four last season against Western Carolina (1/6/24). Saint Louis was forced into seven turnovers, three of which were steals.
 
The Terriers got on the board first off a nice jump shot from Corey Tripp to take a quick 2-0 lead. Saint Louis responded, though, taking an 8-4 lead shortly after. Jeremy Lorenz scored his first two points of the night, followed by a Luke Flynn three-pointer to give Wofford a 9-8 lead at the first media timeout.
 
Both teams traded baskets for several minutes in a first half that saw seven lead changes. Saint Louis would find a bit of breathing room after scoring nine unanswered points to extend its lead to six with just over four minutes of action left in the half. Corey Tripp scored a pair of buckets in the final two minutes of the half, but the Billikens made a three-pointer at the buzzer to enter the break with a 35-28 lead.
 
Wofford was firing on all cylinders to open the second stanza as Dillon Bailey put together an old-fashioned three-point play to start things off. Corey Tripp did the same on the following possession to cut the deficit to one point. After a made free throw by Saint Louis, Justin Bailey hit a trey to make it nine-straight points for the team. Bailey cashed in on a free throw and then Corey Tripp sunk a nice midrange jumper in what was part of a 17-4 run to start the second half. Wofford would grab the lead in that stretch and not lose it for the remainder of the game. The Terriers kept SLU without a field goal for almost six minutes to start the latter stanza.
 
After the run ended, Wofford held a 47-41 advantage with 13:54 remaining in the game. The Billikens kept things interesting, tying the game at 49-all with just over ten minutes of action left. The Terriers had an answer all half, though, as the team rattled off a miniature four-point run to keep the Billikens away.
 
Saint Louis would not go away, as the team never let the game get beyond six points. Despite being down six points with 1:07 remaining in the game, the Billikens still found a way to keep it close. A pair of free throws along with a layup cut the Terrier lead down to two points with 21 seconds left. Dillon Bailey was then sent to the line where he converted on one free throw to put Wofford ahead 72-69 with 13 seconds remaining.
 
Saint Louis was fouled on a three-pointer, resulting in three free throws and a chance to tie the game. The Billikens knocked in the first two, but a Wofford timeout in between the second and third attempt disrupted the Billikens rhythm, causing a miss on the game-tying free throw. Corey Tripp sealed the game with two hits at the charity stripe as the team secured its first road win of the season.
 
Seniors Corey Tripp and Kyler Filewich were the go-to players down the stretch, with Filewich scoring eight-straight points for the Terriers in a span of two minutes. Corey Tripp totaled 24 points on the night but his 16 second half points were the highlight of the night. The duo combined for 17 of the final 23 points in the last 10 minutes of action.
 
Wofford closes out non-conference road action with a huge win over Saint Louis. The team will take a break before Christmas but will be back home at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium against Kentucky Christian on December 28 at 2:00 p.m. Southern Conference action will start with a home matchup against UNCG on January 1 at 12:00 p.m.