CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Wofford men's basketball team (14-12, 8-5) earned a nail-biting 74-71 overtime win against The Citadel (5-19, 0-13) on Wednesday evening in McAlister Field House. The Terriers pulled down 21 offensive rebounds and outscored the Bulldogs 26-11 in second chance points en route to the team's third-straight road win.
 
"I was really proud of our guys fighting effort," said head coach Dwight Perry. "The Southern Conference is a great league, and there are 10 teams that are really good. Our team's job was to come in here and win by at least one. At the end of the day, we got it done."
 
Wofford has now won nine in a row against The Citadel, dating back to an 81-67 win in 2021. It was the first overtime game between the teams since a 104-103 setback in 2017. The Terriers have won three road games in a row marking the first time Wofford has won three or more conference road games consecutively since 2021.
 
The Citadel outshot Wofford on the night as the Bulldogs finished 48.3 percent (29-60) from the field while hitting eight threes at a 32 percent clip. The Terriers shot 40.9 percent (27-66) from the field and made six threes. This was the first win of the season for Wofford when being outshot from the field.
 
The Terriers were led by three double-digit scorers including a 20-point outburst from Corey Tripp. The senior guard is now averaging 19.3 points per game over the last four contests. Tripp recorded six rebounds, four assists, and three steals as well. Jackson Sivills followed behind with 18 points including the go-ahead basket in overtime. 14 of his 18 points came in the second half and overtime. Kyler Filewich rounded out the group with 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one steal.
 
"I just wanted to do what I could to help the team win," said Jackson Sivills. "One of my jobs is to get offensive rebounds and extra chance points. I was lucky enough that the ball landed in my hands, and I could put it back in."
 
Wofford dominated the glass, outrebounding The Citadel 47-27. The Terriers were resilient on the offensive glass as the team pulled down 21 offensive boards that turned into 26 points. Kyler Filewich led the group with eight rebounds, but Jackson Sivills and Justin Bailey followed right behind with seven each. Corey Tripp snagged six.
 
The Terriers jumped on the board first after Corey Tripp found Justin Bailey for an early triple as the team took a 3-0 lead. The Citadel responded with a bucket on the other end, but Wofford would score eight-straight points to take a nine-point lead with 16:45 remaining in the first stanza.
 
The Citadel responded with seven unanswered points of its own, however, the Terriers would get the lead back out to seven after a pair of free throws from Kyler Filewich. Several minutes later the Bulldogs rattled off eight more unanswered points to take their first lead of the game, 22-20, with just under eight minutes to go in the half. Corey Tripp would sink a three with just a few seconds left in the first frame to give Wofford a 32-31 lead heading into the break.  
 
Kyler Filewich got the scoring started in the second half, scoring a nice hook shot in the post. The Citadel would use a 13-4 run early in the latter stanza to take a 44-38 lead with 14:34 left in regulation. The Bulldogs would control the lead for the next six minutes, going up by as many as seven points on three different occasions. A tip-in from Jackson Sivills, who scored 14 points in the second half and overtime, gave Wofford its first lead in over 10 minutes of game time. The teams traded blows over the next few minutes, swapping leads six times in the final eight minutes.
 
With under a minute left in the second half, The Citadel led Wofford 66-62. The Terriers used an offensive rebound to get the ball out to Corey Tripp, who was fouled and sent to the free throw line on a hard drive to the basket. Tripp knocked down the pair, shortening the Bulldog lead to two points with 28 seconds remaining. The Terriers sent a Bulldog to the line with 10 seconds remaining, and the player missed the front end of a one-and-one. Wofford grabbed the rebound, and Corey Tripp rushed the ball down the court and drove once again before being fouled on the game-tying shot attempt. The senior guard would nail both attempts to even it up at 66-all. The Citadel came close on its final heave before the buzzer, but the missed attempt would send the contest into overtime at 66-66.
 
The Citadel scored first in the extra period, but Kyler Filewich and Corey Tripp tallied back-to-back buckets to take a 72-70 lead with 3:19 left. A layup made by The Citadel followed by one made free throw gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead with 48 seconds remaining in overtime. Jackson Sivills would find the ball on an offensive rebound the next Terrier possession and was able to lay the ball in as Wofford took a 72-71 lead with 22 seconds left. The Citadel missed its final attempt to win the game, and it was Justin Bailey sealing the game with two free throws at the other end. Wofford would go on to win the game 74-71 in overtime.
 
The Terriers will be back at home on Saturday, February 15, as the team will take on Samford as part of Hall of Fame Weekend. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU with a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.