BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Wofford men's basketball team lost to the Samford Bulldogs on Wednesday evening, 97-80, in Pete Hanna Arena. This is the second time Wofford has lost on the road in conference.

The Terriers (17-9, 9-4) were led by Chace Watley's 15 points. Nils Machowski pulled down nine rebounds while dishing out four assists. Jayden Tyler and Cayden Vasko had two steals each. Rex Stirling and Brian Sumpter block one shot each.

How It Happened
Brendan Rigsbee found the first bucket for the Terriers. Chace Watley gave Wofford their first lead of the game with a back-door layup on the next possession. Three empty possessions in a row from the Terriers saw the Bulldogs take the lead back heading into the first media timeout, 11-6. The offense took a while to kick off for Wofford, with Samford extending their lead to 12 points before the Wofford bench called a timeout to regroup, 22-10.

The timeout was effective for a time, as Wofford made four of their next five field goals to cut the Bulldog lead to seven. The offense went dead cold after this stretch as the Terriers could not score a field goal for four minutes. Brian Sumpter snapped the streak, converting an and-one play to keep the Terriers within ten points of Samford. Every time Wofford pulled the game closer, the Bulldogs would burst to life to keep the Terriers at bay. With three minutes left in the half, Samford led 38-29.

Samford came out of the final media timeout with consecutive three-pointers while the Terriers could not find an answer on the other end of the court. Watley and Maximo Ortega were able to find some offense late in the half, but the Terriers went into the half down, 47-34.

Machowski kicked things off for the Terriers with a deep three-pointer. The Terrier offense continued to stutter while the Bulldogs continued to outpace Wofford. Samford was able to reach a 20-point lead with 14:45 minutes remaining in the game. The Terriers were able to bring the lead down to 16, but the Bulldogs surged forward still, forcing a Wofford timeout with ten minutes left in the game, 72-51.

Cayden Vasko provided a spark for the Terriers, scoring five points in two possessions. He had a quiet night until that point, having scored only two points before that point. Wofford's full-court press helped force turnovers, which helped them pull the lead back under 20 points for a period, before Samford snapped back. Wofford's efforts seemed futile as the teams entered the final four minutes of the game with the Bulldogs leading, 88-67. The teams would trade scores, but Samford would manage the game clock to end the game, 97-80.

Inside the Numbers

• Starters: Cayden Vasko, Brian Sumpter, Chace Watley, Brenden Rigsbee, Nils Machowski.
• Brian Sumpter's block brings him to 38 for the season. This ties him with the fourth most in a season by a Terrier.
• Wofford has lost three games this season after scoring 80 or more points. Before this season, they had only lost eight games this century when reaching this mark.

Up Next
The Terriers return to the road on Saturday, February 14. Wofford will travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, to face the UNC Greensboro Spartans with tip-off set for 5 p.m. EST. Listen along on the Wofford Digital Network or watch on ESPN+.