LEXINGTON, Va. - The Wofford men's basketball team took down the Virginia Military Institute Keydets on Wednesday evening, 81-67, in Cameron Hall. A new career-high from
Cayden Vasko and a double-double from
Nils Machowski propelled the Terriers to their eighth road win of the season.
The Terriers (16-8, 8-3) were led by
Cayden Vasko with 26 points.
Nils Machowski pulled down 11 rebounds, while Vasko dished out five assists.
Brian Sumpter had two blocks for the 12th time this season.
"I'm happy with our willingness to follow scouting reports," said head coach
Kevin Giltner. "Those guys are following it so well and I don't think they understand how big of a deal it is. Hats off to our team and hats off to our staff."
How It Happened
Brendan Rigsbee opened up scoring for the Terriers after two minutes of play. Shortly after,
Cayden Vasko gave Wofford its first lead of the night with a three from the wing. The teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm, with neither team finding a streak of makes until the 14th minute. Vasko was an early leader for the Terriers, scoring eight points of Wofford's first 16 points. His efforts propelled Wofford to an early lead, 16-9, heading into the under-12-minute media timeout.
Wofford's lead extended to double-digits at the nine-minute mark with
Chace Watley going two for two from the line. The freshmen erupted, scoring seven straight points for the Terriers after the timeout. Wofford had three separate runs with five or more straight points to help them on their way to accumulate a 20-point lead with five minutes left in the half, 36-16.
The Terriers found a drought, failing to score for three minutes. In that time, the Keydets were able to grab a 6-0 run. That drought ended with a corner three from Vasko. While VMI responded with a three of their own, Vasko spun his defender on the other end of the court.
Jayden Tyler would finish off the half by converting his free throw on an and-one play to send Wofford into the locker room with the lead, 44-27.
Wofford kicked off the half with a sequence that included five offensive rebounds, three fouls, and resulted in a bucket from Watley. The freshman did not slow down, scoring seven of the Terriers' first nine points. Suddenly, Wofford hit another scoring drought, failing to score for two minutes before
Rex Stirling scored three quick points. This sparked something under the Terriers as they would go on to score on four straight possessions before a media timeout at the 11-minute mark. Wofford led, 61-44.
VMI had a spark of offense, draining consecutive threes for a 6-0 run. The Wofford bench called a timeout, hoping to prevent the lead from going to single digits. Their efforts were successful as the Terriers grabbed an 8-3 run to hold the Keydets off. Another drought hit the Terriers, failing to score for three minutes. During that time, VMI was only able to score four points. Vasko was the one to end the drought again with a three from the wing. With four minutes left in the game, Wofford led, 74-60.
The Terriers continued to hold onto their double-digit lead with VMI battling to bring it back as close as 10 points. Wofford slowed the game down as much as they could on the offensive side while forcing the Keydets to take uncomfortable shots. VMI could not cut the lead any further as Wofford walked out of Cameron Hall with the win, 81-67.
Inside the Numbers
Up Next
The Terriers return home for a rematch of their SoCon season opener on Saturday, February 7. The Terriers will host the Western Carolina Catamounts with tip-off set for 4 p.m. Listen along on the Wofford Digital Network or watch on SC ETV or ESPN+.
