AUBURN, Ala. – The Wofford men's basketball team (1-2) lost its second consecutive away game to the No. 22 Auburn Tigers on Tuesday night, 62-93, in a sold-out Neville Arena in front of 9,121 fans.
Chace Watley led the Terriers in scoring with 11 points while
Kahmare Holmes and
Maximo Ortega added ten and nine points, respectively.
Luke Flynn led the team with six boards and
Nils Machowski had five assists.
"I thought we did some good things with our transition defense," said head coach
Kevin Giltner. "Coming into these types of environments, playing these types of games and getting these types of experiences with the young guys could go a long way".
How It Happened
Kahmare Holmes found the scoresheet first for the Terriers with a wide open three-point shot, responding to an opening dunk from the Tigers.
Nils Machowski would find himself on the sheet as well with his own three, after missing his first attempt. These efforts gave Wofford an early lead over Auburn. It would not last long as the Tigers grabbed the lead back one minute later. The momentum would only continue to mount for Auburn as they would grab 12 of the next 14 points, heading into the media timeout with a 16-8 lead.
Brian Sumpter would get some action going for the Terriers after the stoppage, finding a layup and his first points of the night. The game slowed down, with only seven points being scored between media timeouts. The Tigers would grab three field goals, including a three-pointer, before Machowski could layup on the cut pass from
Cayden Vasko. With seven minutes to go in the first period, the Terriers found themselves in a 16-point deficit. The major difference between the teams was rebounding as the Tigers edged Wofford 11-6.
Sumpter would snap a three-minute dry streak for the Terriers with none other than a dunk.
Rex Stirling would score on their next possession, laying one up from under the net. In his first game as a Terrier, he seemed to be comfortable in the paint, scoring six points, making all three attempts in the first half. Despite this, Wofford went into the locker rooms down, 22-40.
The second half started off with two straight scores from the Tigers before
Luke Flynn could make a three for the Terriers. Auburn seemed to have an answer to every score as they would score another six points before Wofford could score their own. In the first four minutes, Auburn outscored the Terriers, 13-7.
Chace Watley would be a patch of light, scoring two buckets for Wofford during a 15-4 run from the Tigers.
The size of Auburn was apparent as they grabbed 31 rebounds to Wofford's 16 with still 11 minutes left to play. This was no surprise as they averaged 49 over their first two games.
Maximo Ortega grabbed his first college points, coming from the line, after the 12-minute media timeout. Watley would also convert two before Ortega would snag his first field goal. On the next Terrier possession, the freshman would complete the trifecta with a three pointer, giving him seven points in the span of three minutes.
Ortega would stay perfect from the field, laying up the ball, after grabbing an offensive rebound, despite the height of the opposition. For roughly two minutes, all four freshmen found themselves on the floor as
Jayden Tyler made his debut for Wofford. Heading into the last four minutes, Wofford found themselves down, 55-85. The Terriers would experiment with personnel with
Davis Miller and
Grayson Collins making their debuts after previously being managers for the team during their championship run. Tyler would drain a three for his first points of his college career, but the whistle would blow, 62-93.
Inside the Numbers
Up Next
The Terriers are back in action on Saturday, November 15, at Knight Hall. Wofford will travel to Louisville, Kentucky to face the Bellarmine Knights, at 2 p.m. EST. Listen along at wofford.leanplayer.com or watch on ESPN+.
