SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford men's basketball team (1-1) never trailed in a convincing home opener against the Milwaukee Panthers on Saturday afternoon, 86-76, at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in front of 1,342 fans.
Kahmare Holmes scored a career-high 24 points while
Brian Sumpter recorded his first career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Nils Machowski and
Luke Flynn added double-digit points.
"We had a great couple of days leading into [the game]," said head coach
Kevin Giltner. "The guys just answered the challenge… The guys wanted to punch first, but I told them, you can punch them all you want, but you have to keep punching, and I think we did."
How It Happened
Wofford started off hot, scoring in four of their first five possessions. Three-pointers from
Cayden Vasko and
Nils Machowski pushed the Terriers to an early ten-point lead heading into the first media timeout. The team was shooting 50 percent from the field, a stark difference from their game against George Mason where they shot 30 percent from the field.
Aside from shooting, the main separator in the matchup was rebounding. The Terriers held a +10 rebound margin going into the second media timeout. Milwaukee seemed to be unable to kickstart their offense, making just three of their first 13 field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Wofford held their high offensive accuracy with 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc.
The Panthers began to gain their footing halfway through the first period, holding Wofford to five points while they went on to score 11 of their own, heading into the last eight.
Brian Sumpter gave energy to the offense and the crowd, grabbing two athletic dunks, bringing him to ten points with time left in the half. His athleticism also helped him grab six boards as well.
After two makes from the line by Sumpter, Wofford held a twelve-point lead with three minutes on the clock. The Terriers had all the momentum, and the Panthers could not contain the offense, sending the Terriers to the line four times. Wofford went six for seven from the line, sending the teams into the locker room, 47-33. Five Terriers had five or more points at the end of the half, led by the freshman forward,
Brian Sumpter, with 15 points.
It took just over 1:30 minutes in the second period for the scoring to start with
Luke Flynn pulling out an acrobatic layup. Wofford's dominance continued in the early minutes with the Terriers going 4-6 from the field and 1-2 from the line going into the first media timeout. In the same time, the Panthers only had one make on five attempts, missing their two trips to the line.
Out of the stoppage, Milwaukee flipped the momentum around, finding a 10-4 run, pressuring Wofford into a timeout. Both teams would go on to miss an attempt before hitting the 12-minute mark for another stop.
Kahmare Holmes would kickstart the offense again, drawing a shooting foul on his layup make. Wofford went on a 7-0 run before the Panthers could grab another basket.
The Terriers utilized its athleticism with a Holmes and Sumpter dunk on back-to-back possessions. The sophomore would reach 20 points before the last media timeout. With just over three minutes in the game, Wofford held a 15-point lead. Three straight scoring possessions from the Panthers brought the game to an 11-point margin. The teams would trade trips to the free-throw line before Sumpter would grab the points he needed for a 20-point performance. Milwaukee's attempt to claw away at the Terrier lead was moot and the whistle blew, 86-76.
Inside the Numbers
Up Next
The Terriers are back in action on Tuesday, November 11, in Neville Arena. Wofford will travel to Auburn, Alabama to face the 2025 NCAA Tournament Semifinalists, Auburn Tigers, at 8 p.m. EST. Listen along at wofford.leanplayer.com or watch on the SECNX.
