WESTERN CAROLINA 81, WOFFORD 75

SPARTANBURG, SC ? Freshman Jake Robinson came off the bench and nailed six 3-pointers and scored 20 points to lead Western Carolina to an 81-75 win at Wofford on Wednesday night.

Robinson made all three of his 3-point attempts in the first half and three of four in the second half.  The 6-8 freshman from Canton, NC was seven of nine from the floor on the evening.

Wofford (4-4, 0-2) was able to whittle an 18-point second half deficit to as few as four points but could not get any closer.

Western Carolina (4-1, 1-0) had built a 37-23 halftime advantage behind Robinson’s nine points and a 26-15 rebounding advantage over the Terriers.

Western Carolina extended its lead to 18 points at 43-25 following a three-pointer by Negus McKenna with 17:17 to play in the game.  The Terriers slowly ate away at the Catamount advantage, closing to within 10 points at 58-48 following a pair of free throws by Shane Nichols with 9:55 remaining.  Wofford trailed by seven at 61-54 with just under eight minutes to go following a triple by Nichols. 

WCU increased its lead back to 11 points at 77-66 with 1:07 remaining before Wofford went on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 79-75.  Matt O’Connor, Eric Marshall and Nichols all hit 3-pointers for the Terriers with Nichols’ shot making it a four-point game with 11 seconds remaining.  WCU’s Antonio Russell hit a pair of free throws with nine seconds left to account for the final margin.

Nichols led the Terriers with 24 points, tying his season-high.  Marshall, celebrating his 22nd birthday, finished with 18 points and six assists.  O’Connor tallied 12 points while sophomore Tyler Whatley finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Russell finished with 19 points for the Catamounts while freshman Nick Aldridge tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Wofford will play its next five games on the road staring at Michigan on Saturday.

Western Carolina will play at Xavier on Saturday.