Wofford 89, Tennessee Wesleyan 66
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Four Terriers scored in double figures, led by Eric Garcia’s 16, and the Wofford men’s basketball team shot 55 percent to run away from Tennessee Wesleyan College, 89-66, Tuesday night in non-conference action at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Garcia’s 16 points came on 5-of-6 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 mark from 3-point range. The junior point guard added a game-high seven assists in just 22 minutes.
Tennessee Wesleyan (15-1 NAIA) entered the game No. 21 in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs hung around and trailed by just seven at halftime, but an 11-0 Terrier run turned it into a 20-point game less than 8 minutes into the second half. Ryan Sawvell slammed home a dunk to spark the run and three consecutive Wofford 3-pointers followed. Freshman Fletcher Magee hit two of them, including the one that put the Terriers in front 64-44 with 12:29 remaining.
“We had to grind it out and hang in there a little bit, but I thought our guys did a pretty good job,” said head coach Mike Young, who earned his 225th career victory, all of which have come at Wofford. “I think we got something out of this game as opposed to being up 25 at the half.”
Magee and senior Spencer Collins finished with 15 points apiece. Magee bounced back from a 1-for-7 3-point shooting night at Mercer by going 4-for-6 in Tuesday night’s win.
“He was terrific. He hit a couple of bombs off some screening action and had a very good look about him,” Young added on his freshman from Orlando, Fla. “I thought he had a very nice game overall. He’s going to be on the floor a lot – he’s earned it – and he’s doing a much better job defensively.”
Sawvell rounded out Wofford’s double-figure scorers with 11, the most points he’s scored in a Wofford uniform. The junior transfer from Evansville shot 5-of-7 from the floor and tied his season-high of seven rebounds. Senior C.J. Neumann went for a team-high nine boards, helping Wofford outrebound the Bulldogs 41-30.
For Tennessee Wesleyan, senior forward Trey Suttles tallied game-highs of 36 points and 11 rebounds. Suttles had 21 at the half and finished the night 15-of-22 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range, with four steals, three assists and a block. His 36 points were the most by an opposing player at Benjamin Johnson Arena since Steph Curry scored 39 for Davidson on February 12, 2009.
TWC ended the night at 43 percent shooting. Aside from Suttles, the rest of the team shot 11 for 38 (28.9 pct.).
Wofford scored the first five points, but Tennessee Wesleyan showed some fight. The Bulldogs responded with a 9-2 run to go on top and the two sides traded leads 12 times in the first half.
After freshman Tre Tiller cut the Terrier lead to 36-35 with 4:39 before the break, Wofford fired back with 3-pointers by Garcia and freshman Derrick Brooks to take its largest lead of the half of seven points. The Terriers remained in front by seven, 44-37, at halftime.
Magee connected with a 3-pointer less than 4 minutes into the second half that put Wofford in front by double digits for the first time. TWC’s Jeremy Davison quickly cut it back to nine with a layup in transition.
Wofford’s 11-0 run followed over the next 3 minutes, 44 seconds. Suttles briefly put an end to it before Magee and Sawvell combined for the next six points. It put the Terriers in front by their largest margin of the night, 69-46, with 11:14 to play.
The Terriers led by no less than 15 the rest of the way.