LEXINGTON, KY – The No. 15 seed Wofford men's basketball team (19-16) fell to the No. 2 University of Tennessee 77-62 on Thursday evening at Rupp Arena in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Terriers fought hard, cutting the deficit to single-digits multiple times but could not overcome the Volunteers.
 
Four Terriers finished in double-digits for the evening, with Jackson Sivills pacing the team at 15 points. Corey Tripp followed along with 14 points while Jeremy Lorenz scored 12 points. Justin Bailey rounded out the group with 10 points.
 
"First off, congratulations to Tennessee," said head coach Dwight Perry. "They're a really good team and they played really well. They're a 2 seed for a reason. They did a great job, I thought, executing their game plan on both ends. They're a tough and physical team. More than anything I am really proud of these guys. There is not going to be one game that's going to define what this team accomplished, and at the end of the day, there are only six teams in Wofford basketball history that can say they played on this stage. In a program that is as rich in history and tradition for this group to be able to etch their name in Wofford basketball history is something that nobody can take away. We shot the ball relatively well. There were definitely times when we had some errors that probably cost us being able to go on more runs and shorten the gap. We fought until the end. I am really happy for our group for what we accomplished overall this year."
 
The Volunteers dominated the boards in the first half, but Wofford evened up the rebounding margin at the end of the game. Both teams finished the night with 31 rebounds, but Wofford gained the edge with 11 offensive rebounds compared to nine from Tennessee. Jackson Sivills and Kyler Filewich paced the team with five rebounds each.
 
The Terriers shot 42 percent from the field and knocked down 11 three-pointers at a 42 percent clip. Tennessee finished the night shooting 48 percent from the floor and made 10 threes. The Volunteers also made 15 free throws on 22 attempts.
 
Tennessee started the game with five-straight points, but Justin Bailey answered with a triple to narrow the margin. The Vols made a three of their own on the other end, however, a deep ball from Kahmare Holmes once again brought the game to two points.
 
The Vols embarked on a 12-0 run shortly after that, bringing the team's lead to 14 points, 22-8, with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first stanza. Back-to-back three-pointers from Wofford brought the game back within striking distance. Jackson Sivills ended the drought while Luke Flynn scored his first points as well.
 
Wofford could not bring it closer than eight points, though, as Tennessee answered every punch the Terriers threw. The Vols extended their lead to 13 points, but Wofford brought it back to eight points with two minutes left after a Corey Tripp three. The Terriers would enter the break trailing 36-27.
 
Tennessee opened the second half with a bucket to get the game back out to double-digits. Both teams traded baskets over the next several minutes. Tennessee went up 48-34 with 15:33 left in the contest, but Wofford shortened the lead to eight points once more.
 
That was the closest the Terriers would get all night, though, as Tennessee continued to respond to every run the team went on. The Vols gained their biggest lead of the game, 61-45, with 10:35 left, but Wofford showed resilience, cutting the lead to nine points on a final attempt to come back. The Terriers would ultimately fall 77-62 to No. 2 Tennessee.
 
Wofford concludes the 2025 season at 19-16 and they were 10-8 in Southern Conference play. The Terriers entered the SoCon Tournament as the No. 6 seed but won three games in three days to earn their sixth SoCon Championship, along with an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The Terriers entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 15 seed for just the second time in program history.