Wofford 81, Lees-McRae 39
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford men's basketball defeated Lees-McRae 81-39 on Thursday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers had 14 different players score in the game and were led by Noah Dahlman with 17 points.
Wofford is 2-1 overall, while Lees-McRae is 0-2. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 17 points and eight rebounds. Kevin Giltner added eleven points and Terry Martin had ten. The Bobcats were led by Sean Hardin and Jeremaiah Henry with eight points each.
"I genuinely feel like we played a very good basketball game," said head coach Mike Young. "It was a difficult circumstance since we were coming off a win at Georgia and coming back to a Lees-McRae team that is a very good team. They are going to do well at their level and one that you could overlook a bit and not play the game the right way. I thought our team played the right way. We defended well, competed and got a little bit better."
The Terriers got off to a slow start, but scored the first ten points of the game. The Bobcats cut the lead to seven points at 13-6 with 9:34 left in the first half. After going up 18-8 after a lay-up by Noah Dahlman at 7:28, Wofford went on an 8-0 run. Another lay-up by Dahlman with 2:38 made it a 32-11 game. The Terriers pushed the lead to 26 points at the half.
In the second half, Wofford opened with threes from Cameron Rundles and Brad Loesing and a lay-up by Dahlman for a 34 point lead. At 10:57, a lay-up by Nathan Parker increased the lead to 41 points. Wofford had a 71-25 lead at 7:11 after a shot by Tim Johnson. In the final five minutes, the Terriers added baskets from Taylor Wagener and Joseph Tecklenberg, plus a three from Matt Steelman for the 81-39 final score.
Wofford shot 53 percent from the floor and 40 percent from beyond the arc. The Bobcats shot 35 percent from the floor and 33 percent from behind the arc. Lees-McRae was 42 percent from the free throw line. Wofford had a 36 to 30 lead on rebounds and the Terriers forced 18 turnovers.
The Terriers begin a four-game road trip to Bradley, Illinois and Las Vegas to face Southern and Seattle next week. Wofford will then play two more road games before hosting Appalachian State at Benjamin Johnson Arena on December 7.
South Florida 65, Davidson 58
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Augustus Gilchrist scored 21 points, including South Florida's last nine, to lead the Bulls to a 65-58 men's basketball victory over Davidson in the Charleston Classic at Carolina First Arena Thursday night.
Will Archambault led the Wildcats (0-2) with 14 points to go along with six rebounds, and Bryant Barr netted 13. Steve Rossiter scored 13 points, and Frank Ben-Eze grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Gilchrist went 15-for-16 from the charity stripe, including 13-for-14 in the second half and 9-for-10 in the game's final five minutes. Dominique Jones collected 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls (3-0), and Jarrid Famous had a game-high 11 boards.
USF led 60-48 with 4:07 to play, but Davidson trimmed the margin to two points at 60-58 with 58 seconds left following a layup by Jake Cohen. The Wildcats called timeout to set the defense, and Rossiter was whistled for a foul on Gilchrist as the Bulls tried to enter the ball in the post.
Gilchrist made both free throws, and JP Kuhlman missed a contested runner on the other end. Gilchrist grabbed the rebound, was fouled and hit 1-of-2, making the margin 63-58 with 30 seconds left.
Rossiter got fouled on Davidson's next possession and missed the front end of the 1-and-1. Gilchrist got the rebound, his eighth of the game, and made both freebies for the final 65-58 margin.
Trailing by 12, the Wildcats defense held the Bulls without a field goal for the last 5:56 to get back in the game. Barr ignited the run with a jumper, followed by a 3-pointer. After a USF turnover, Kuhlman got a conventional 3-point play, and Cohen followed that with a layup off a Barr assist, cutting the lead to two points.
The Wildcats struggled from the field, shooting 36.7 percent for the game, and 31 percent in the first half.
Davidson plays again Friday night in the Charleston Classic at 7 p.m. The 'Cats face either La Salle or South Carolina.