GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford men's basketball team (9-8, 3-1) used a strong defensive effort to defeat the Furman Paladins (14-3, 2-2) 81-62 on Monday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The Terriers held Furman to just 20 percent shooting in the first stanza as the team jumped out to a 20-point lead at end of the first half.
The 19-point win serves as the largest margin of victory against Furman since a 74-49 win in 2015. The Terriers handed Furman its first home loss of the year, and Wofford has now won five of its last six outings.
"I was really proud of our team's effort in this game," said head coach
Dwight Perry. "Our team came with the right mentality. We did a great job moving and sharing the ball on the offensive end. The ball moving and being shared helped generate high quality looks. At the end of the day, I am really proud of this Wofford program."
Wofford finished the night shooting 47.1 percent (32-68) while knocking down 13 threes at a 40.6 percent rate. The Terriers held Furman to 33.3 percent (23-69) shooting on the night and limited the team to 23.5 percent (8-34) from three. The Terriers recorded 15 assists on 32 made baskets. Filewich led the group with six assists, and
Jeremy Lorenz tallied three.
The Terriers were led by four double-digit outings, including a 19-point effort from
Dillon Bailey who hit five threes. The senior guard notched 14 second half points to hold off the Paladin attack.
Corey Tripp followed behind at 16 points along with 12 points from
Jackson Sivills.
Anthony Arrington, Jr. closed out the four double-figure scorers with 10 points off the bench.
Wofford won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Furman 52-35 on the night including 20 offensive rebounds.
Kyler Filewich recorded 12 rebounds to lead the team, marking his sixth game out of the last seven with at least ten boards.
Anthony Arrington, Jr. followed behind with eight rebounds.
Dillon Bailey and
Corey Tripp finished with six each.
Justin Bailey kickstarted the offense for the Terriers, hitting two-straight deep balls to start the game.
Kyler Filewich scored an easy layup the next possession to cap an 8-0 run to start the game. A Furman jumper ended the run, but
Jeremy Lorenz extended the lead back to eight with his first points of the night.
"Those guys believe in me setting the tone on defense," said
Justin Bailey on the strong defensive effort. "My offense was going as well, and I am just glad everybody brought the energy tonight."
The Paladins cut the lead to four after five-straight points were scored, however, back-to-back buckets from
Corey Tripp furthered the Wofford advantage.
Dillon Bailey nailed his first three of the game along with a
Jackson Sivills jumper in what nine was unanswered points by the Terriers.
Another 8-0 run led the Wofford to a 32-13 lead with 6:13 remaining in the half. The Terriers would go up by as many as 23 points in the closing minutes of the half, but a three at the buzzer from Furman closed the gap. Wofford would head into the break leading 40-20.
The Terriers held Furman to just seven field goals on 20 percent shooting in the opening half. Two of those baskets were three-pointers, as the Paladins took 17 attempts in the first frame.
The Paladins opened the half with a three-pointer, but
Justin Bailey answered with his third three of the game to set the tone for the final 20 minutes. The Terriers would jump out to a 25-point lead with 17:41 left in the half after a quick 7-0 run.
Jeremy Lorenz started the Furman skid with an easy lay-in followed by a
Dillon Bailey three.
Corey Tripp swiped the ball from Furman and took it all the way to close out the run.
Furman could not close in on the Terrier lead, never cutting the lead to below 18 points. Wofford would go on to win the game 81-62 in what was the largest margin of victory against Furman since a 74-49 victory in 2015.
The Terriers have a busy week ahead of them, as the team travels to Chattanooga for a Wednesday night matchup with the Mocs at 7:00 p.m. Wofford will be back at home on Saturday to take on Mercer.
