RICHMOND, Ky. - The Wofford men's basketball team staved off a late comeback from the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Saturday night to win, 83-73, in Baptist Health Arena.
The Terriers (5-3) were led by
Kahmare Holmes' 30 points, helped by
Cayden Vasko's 13 points. Holmes also led the team in rebounds with eight.
Luke Flynn and Holmes led assists with three apiece. Vasko had two steals, while
Brian Sumpter and Brenden Rigsbee had a block each.
"We answered the call," said head coach
Kevin Giltner. "I loved what we did. Our team defense… was really encouraging, and I hope that these guys can understand, that's how you have to do it."
How It Happened
Kahmare Holmes opened the scoring in the game, converting both of his free throws and following it up by finishing a layup on the next possession. Wofford held off the Colonels for the first 3:30 minutes of the game, going ahead 9-0, before EKU called a timeout. Eastern Kentucky responded with its own run, going 13-2, to grab the lead just before the under-12-minute timeout.
Scoring slowed in the game, with only 8 points scored in the next three minutes. The Colonels turned the ball over four times in the opening 12 minutes of the game, but the Terriers had failed to capitalize on these opportunities. Meanwhile, Wofford turned the ball over once, with EKU grabbing two points on the ensuing possession.
The Terriers went on another 9-0 run, lifted by threes from Holmes and
Brendan Rigsbee. This propelled Wofford to a 31-23 lead with four minutes in the half. The Wofford defense showed out, forcing the Colonels to go 1-12 from the floor over the last six minutes. The Terrier held EKU to 23.1 percent shooting in the first half, a team that has been averaging 42.4 percent from the field. Wofford held the lead heading into the locker room at 37-28.
The Terriers came out of the gate with a 9-3 run to start the second half, pushing them to a double-digit lead for the first time in the game. As Wofford seemed to be pulling away, EKU found a 6-0 run in the midst of two straight missed attempts from behind the arc by the Terriers. This streak was ended by a pair of three-pointers from
Cayden Vasko and one more from
Nils Machowski, pushing EKU into a timeout.
Eastern Kentucky would heat up from behind the arc, making consecutive attempts to prevent the Terriers from grabbing a 20-point lead. The teams traded scores over the next stretch of the game, with Wofford holding a slight edge in scoring, 8-7. With under eight minutes left to play, the Terriers were up 70-54. Every time the Terriers looked to push forward, the Colonels responded to keep them within a dangerous position. This was evident when the Terriers' 16-point lead was cut in half after EKU made six of eight field goals in the span of three minutes.
With three minutes left to play in the game, Wofford held a 77-69 lead. An offensive foul from EKU led to a Holmes three-pointer. The Terriers took their time with each possession. With an eight-point lead with 48 seconds left, Wofford inbounded the ball and brought the shot clock down to three seconds before Vasko was fouled. With only 21 seconds on the clock the Junior went 1-2 from the line. EKU was able to bring it back to a two-possession game but could not pull off the comeback. The final whistle blew with a 83-77 score.
Inside the Numbers
Up Next
The Terriers are back in action on Wednesday, December 3, in Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium to host the Presbyterian Blue Hose. Tip-off set for 7 p.m. Listen along at wofford.leanplayer.com or watch on ESPN+.
