Wofford 76, Furman 65
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Wofford men's basketball team was down at the half but came back and defeated Furman 76-65 on Wednesday night at Timmons Arena. The Terriers made 19 free throws in the second half to secure the fifth win in a row.
Wofford is 18-8 on the season and 10-3 in the SoCon, while Furman is 11-13 overall and 5-8 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Jamar Diggs and Noah Dahlman, each with 17 points. Cameron Rundles added 15 points, eleven of which were from the line, and he led the team with seven rebounds. The Paladins were led by Justin Dehm with twelve points and Colin Reddick with ten points.
The Paladins scored first, but after a three pointer by Brad Loesing the Terriers had a 7-5 lead at the 15:30 mark. The bucket by Loesing was the start of an 8-0 run for Wofford as they added a three from Jason Dawson on the way to a 12-5 lead at the twelve minute mark. After the Terriers built a nine-point lead, Furman scored five quick points to cut the lead to 16-12 with 8:47 on the clock.
Noah Dalhman scored the next four points for the Terriers to take a 20-12 lead and at the five minute mark Wofford had a 24-14 advantage. Furman chipped away at the lead and a three by Darryl Evans cut it to 24-21 before Jamar Diggs hit a three for Wofford. However, the Paladins added a three by Amu Saaka on the way to taking a 30-29 lead at the break. Over the final five minutes, Furman outscored the Terriers 16-5.
To open the second half, Wofford scored the first four points but the game was tied at 33 two minutes into play. The Terriers put together a quick 10-0 run to take a 43-33 lead at the 14:35 mark. A three by Jason Dawson at 13:50 gave Wofford a 47-35 lead. Again, the Paladins clawed back and the score was 49-41 with twelve minutes left in the half.
After the Terriers took a twelve point lead at 53-41, the Paladins used a quick 6-0 run. Junior Salters hit a three to end the run and give Wofford a 56-47 lead with nine minutes left. Cameron Rundles hit six-of-six free throws over the next two minutes as the Terriers had a 64-54 advantage at the five minute mark.
Over the final five minutes, Furman would cut the lead to eight points once but the Terriers quickly had the lead back at 13 points with 2:15 left in the game after a lay-up by Brad Loesing. The Paladins scored the final basket of the game with 26 seconds remaining for the 76-65 final score.
Wofford shot 44.4 percent from the floor and was 50.0 percent from three-point range. Furman was 41.3 percent overall and shot 50 percent from behind the arc. Wofford had a 40-26 lead on the boards and Furman had six blocks in the game.
With the victory, the Terriers have 18 wins on the season which is the most since moving to NCAA Division I. Noah Dahlman scored in double-figures for the 26th time this season. Wofford has won eleven of their last twelve games and have defeated Furman in four straight meetings. Terry Martin fouled out for Wofford and Jordan Miller fouled out for Furman.
Samford 78, Chattanooga 54
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Chattanooga men's basketball team fell 78-54 to Samford Wednesday night at the McKenzie Arena. The Bulldogs shot out to an early lead and never looked back.
Josh Davis led the way for Samford, scoring 30 and tying for game high honors with seven rebounds. Jeffrey Merritt had 13 and Trey Montgomery added 10 for the Bulldogs. Davis' 30 ties Elon's Drew Spradlin for most points scored against UTC this season.
Four Mocs scored in double figures, led by 15 from Ty Patterson. Keegan Bell had 11, while Chris Early and Ricky Taylor each scored 10. DeAntre Jefferson had seven boards.
The Bulldogs started the game seven-of-eight from the field, including four three pointers in the first 3:25. Samford shot 10-17 from behind the arc in the first half, and led by as many as 14, after a Davis three with 6:31 remaining in the first.
The Bulldogs finished the game at 61 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from behind the three-point line. The Mocs finished 18-61 from the field for 29.5 percent, making just 21.4 percent (6-28) in the second half.
Despite the hot shooting by the visitors, Chattanooga would not let the game get too far away in the first. After the Davis bucket at 6:31, UTC held the Bulldogs scoreless for the next 4:37 and allowed only three more points the remainder of the first.
The Mocs shot 8-20 from behind the arc and 36.4 percent overall in the first half, but went into the break trailing by only six after Ty Patterson hit a three with just seconds remaining. That shot capped an 11-3 run that made it 38-32 at the break.
Ricky Taylor made two free throws and a three-pointer for five of the Mocs' first six to begin the second half. They would close it to within two, 40-38, but Samford responded quickly.
Taylor's three was the only basket in a 1-12 shooting start to the second for the Mocs. A Jeffrey Merritt three-pointer jumpstarted a 14-0 Bulldog run that was capped by a Josh Davis dunk and a Chattanooga timeout with 12:57 to play and Samford leading 54-38.
Ty Patterson ended a five minute scoreless drought at the 11:18 mark. He added five more on a short 11-4 run that got the Mocs back within nine. The run was spurred by a couple of forced turnovers but once again, the Bulldogs had an answer making three straight layups to extend the lead back to 15 with 6:32 to play.
Those six points turned into a 20-4 run for the Bulldogs over the next 6:08 and put the game away.
Chattanooga committed a season low eight turnovers compared to 18 for Samford. The Bulldogs limited second chance opportunities however, with a 39-25 rebounding edge. Thirty-five of the 39 boards were on the defensive glass for the visitors.