JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Wofford men's basketball team avenged its earlier loss to the ETSU Buccaneers on Wednesday evening, 72-69, in Freedom Hall. Wofford has now beaten every team in the conference at least once.
The Terriers (19-11, 11-6) were led by
Nils Machowski's 20 points, followed by 17 from
Kahmare Holmes.
Rex Stirling and
Cayden Vasko had six rebounds each, while Vasko was the only player on Wofford to get a block. Stirling also led the team in steals with two.
"I thought our confidence level was back to where it was a couple weeks ago," said head coach
Kevin Giltner. "We just played with some good mojo. We had some good swagger about us and played well."
How It Happened
Wofford burst into life in the first two minutes of play, grabbing an 8-0 lead, causing a timeout from the ETSU bench.
Kahmare Holmes scored six of those eight points for the Terriers. The Buccaneers were able to snag five points back before Wofford scored again. ETSU was able to tie things up with 13 minutes left in the half from the line, grabbing the lead on their next offensive possession. Wofford held a one-point lead heading into the under-12 media timeout at 15-14.
The teams battled back and forth, neither able to create more than a two-point advantage until 5 minutes remained in the half.
Kahmare Holmes picked the pocket of the ETSU forward, dishing off the pass to
Brian Sumpter for a slam dunk on the break. The Buccaneers struck back with a 6-0 run for the lead, but
Cayden Vasko answered with a three as the shot clock expired to grab it right back. The close half would close out with the lead switching back into ETSU's hands by four points, 37-33.
Rex Stirling kicked off scoring in the second half with a layup down low off a pass from Vasko. The Terriers scored on their first three possessions, including five points from Holmes. The Bucs kept the Terriers from scoring on their next four possessions while pushing their lead back to six points. Machowski snapped the scoreless streak with a fast-break layup. The Terriers would bring it back within two points, but the Bucs had a strong finish before an ETSU timeout with 11:48 left to play with a 52-48 lead.
Vasko was the first to score after a one-minute drought in the game. A pair of inbound plays from Vasko and Machowski tied the game back up with eight minutes to play.
Brian Sumpter gave the Terriers the lead for the first time in the half. Wofford pushed the lead to as many as four before the Buccaneers closed the gap to two points with four minutes left to play, Wofford leading by a margin of 63-61.
Wofford was unable to convert on a successful coaches' challenge, allowing ETSU to tie things up on the other end.
Nils Machowski finished a crucial second-chance put-back to keep the Terriers in the advantage. Holmes and Stirling pushed the lead to four for the Terriers with 1:37 minutes. An and-one conversion from ETSU cut the Wofford lead to one. The Bucs went one for two from the line to tie the game at 69-69 with 40 seconds remaining.
Cayden Vasko was fouled as he pulled down an offensive rebound, going two for two from the line to give Wofford the edge. ETSU called a timeout in an attempt to send the game to overtime, but it was unsuccessful as the Terriers won, 72-69.
Inside the Numbers
Up Next
The Terriers will close out the regular season with their final home game on Saturday, February 28. Wofford will host The Citadel Bulldogs with tip-off set for 2:00 p.m. inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Listen along on the Wofford Digital Network or watch on Palmetto Sport Network or ESPN+.
