SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford men's basketball team (8-8, 2-1) used an 11-point lead at halftime to hold off the Western Carolina Catamounts (4-10, 0-3) in a 77-69 win on Wednesday night at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Terriers shot 62.5 percent from the field in the opening half, including eight threes on 53.3 percent shooting.
 
"I thought our guys showed a lot of resolve," said head coach Dwight Perry. "We could've gone a lot of different ways when we let our lead dwindle, but I thought our guys did a great job of continuing to stick with it. We made big time plays on both ends of the floor, we had guys share the ball, and we had some timely stops. In this league, the most important thing is getting a win. We're really glad to have a win."
 
Wofford finished the night shooting 44.4 percent (28-63) from the field while knocking down ten threes at a 38.5 percent rate. The defense held strong, holding Western Carolina to just 35.9 percent (23-64) shooting and 25.9 percent (10-39) from deep.
 
It was a balanced scoring attack for the Terriers, with four players reaching double-figures. Dillon Bailey and Corey Tripp paced the team with 17 points each. Kyler Filewich followed behind with 16 points, and Justin Bailey finished with 14 points and a season-high four three-pointers.
 
"Credit to my teammates for getting me involved," said Corey Tripp. "We preach it every day – staying with it through adversity. Our toughness came into play tonight."
 
Wofford dominated the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Catamounts 47-31 including 13 offensive rebounds. Filewich led the effort with a season-high 18 rebounds, marking his seventh double-double of the season and 17^th of his career. Justin Bailey followed behind with seven boards. The Terriers outscored Western Carolina in the paint, too, totaling 34 points compared to 24 by the Catamounts.
 
The Terriers tallied 16 assists on 28 made field goals while holding Western Carolina to 10 helpers. Kyler Filewich paced the team with six assists along with Justin Bailey finishing with five.
 
Kyler Filewich got the scoring started for Wofford after an offensive rebound and putback to give the team an early 2-0 lead. Western Carolina responded with back-to-back buckets, but the Terriers rattled off eight unanswered points to counter. A pair of threes from Corey Tripp and Justin Bailey sparked the run.
 
The Catamounts battled back to tie the game at 15-all with 13 minutes remaining but once again Wofford used a couple of deep balls along with a Kyler Filewich layup to gain a comfortable 23-15 lead. Western Carolina kept things close over the next several minutes, however a 10-0 run allowed the Terriers to gain their first double-digit lead of the half. Wofford would head into the break leading the Catamounts 48-37.
 
Kyler Filewich opened the half with an emphatic putback slam, but Western Carolina shut out the Terriers for almost six minutes after that as the team fought its way back. During the drought, the Catamounts embarked on a 16-0 run to take a 50-48 lead with 15:52 left in the contest. Western Carolina would ride that momentum all the way to a six-point lead with just over 12 minutes remaining.
 
"I'm really proud of how we responded," said Kyler Filewich on the Western Carolina run. "We could've folded, and some of the earlier games we have, so it's good to bounce back. We had a lot of guys step and make plays when we needed to make them."
 
The Terriers gained a one-point lead after Justin Bailey found Dillon Bailey for a nice layup, but Western Carolina answered with a three-pointer on the other end. Corey Tripp followed that with seven-straight points to give Wofford a 71-66 lead with 2:33 left. Wofford converted on its last eight attempts from the line to seal a 77-69 victory over the Catamounts.
 
Wofford will take a short trip to Greenville, South Carolina, to take on the Furman Paladins on Saturday, January 11. The game is featured as the SoCon Game of the Week and can be streamed on ESPN+ and the CW Network.