Furman sees five-game winning streak end at Wofford

            Furman's streak ends at Wofford

Wofford's Corey Tripp scored 20 points, and forward Kyler Filewich finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, as the Terriers were able to snap a four-game losing streak in the series with Furman, downing the Paladins 77-67 in Southern Conference basketball action Saturday night before a crowd of 3,500 at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

With the win, Wofford improved to 12-9 overall and 5-3 in league play, while Furman fell to 11-10 overall and 5-3 in SoCon action. The win by Wofford snapped Furman's season-long five-game winning streak, while snapping what had become a two-game skid for the Terriers. 

Tripp finished out the contest by connecting on 8-of-15 shots from the field, however, was 0-for-5 from three-point range in the contest. He also finished the night connecting on 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

Filewich, who transferred into Wofford from Southern Illinois a couple of years ago, posted his 17 points an 8-of-9 shooting effort from the field, which included a 1-of-4 effort at the charity stripe. Filewich completed his double-double performance for the Terriers by snagging 10 rebounds, with four of those offensive, which was part of a night that saw the Terriers snag 15 offensive rebounds that led to 16 second-chance points. 

Rounding out the Terrier players that finished in double figures in the contest was Jackson Sivills, who added 14 points on 5-fo-12 shooting from the field, including going 3-of-7 from long range. He was also 1-of-3 from the free throw line.

Furman was paced in the contest by four players reaching double figures. Redshirt senior guard Marcus Foster led all scorers with 22 points and added 10 rebounds, posting his third double-double in his fourth game back from injury, while also posting his second 20-plus point scoring performance since returning from his lower body injury that sidelined for nine games from Dec. 4-Jan. 17. 

Foster was able to finish the contest by connecting on 5-of-13 shots from the field, including having gone 4-for-7 from long range. He was also 8-of-11 from the free throw line. He also added two assists and a steal, while three of his 10 boards in the contest were offensive. 

Foster was joined in double figures by junior guard JP Pegues, who added 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-6 effort from beyond the arc and was 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Pegues also added three assists and a steal to the Paladin cause.

Alex Williams matched Pegues' 15 points, with 15 of his own, as he connected on 5-of-13 shots from the field and was 3-for-10 from long range. He was also a perfect 2-for-2 from the foul line. 

Furman's double-figure scoring efforts were rounded out by PJay Smith Jr., as he added 11 points off the bench for the Paladins. He was 3-for-9 from the field and just 1-for-6 from long-range.

Wofford finished the night shooting a solid 46.8% (29-of-62) from the field, while struggling to find consistency from beyond the arc, as the Terriers could only muster a 26.1% (6-of-23) shooting effort from downtown. Wofford also finished connecting on just 65.1% (13-of-20) from the line. 

Furman finished shooting their second-lowest shooting percentage of the season from the field, as the Paladins were able to connect on just 31.0% (18-of-58) from the field, which included just a 31.4% (11-of-35) shooting effort from long range. The Paladins managed to connect on 74.1% (20-of-27) from the free throw line. Furman made only seven two-point field goals in the contest. 

Wofford finished the game owning advantages in total assists (16-10), total rebounds (47-34), points in the paint

 (46-14), and bench points (14-13). The Paladins owned advantages points from turnovers (14-11) and second-chance points (20-16). The Paladins also outscored the Terriers 33-18 from beyond the three-point line. The two teams were all even in fast-break points (12-12).

How It Happened:

The Terriers came out and took the game to the Paladins from the outset of the game, and were only seriously threatened two times in each half by Furman runs.

In the opening half of play, the Terriers took advantage of a poor start by the Paladins to build what was a 22-9 lead, as Furman misfired on 12 of its first 14 shots from the field. With the Terriers holding a 25-15 lead following a Jackson Sivills three-pointer with 7:38 to play in the opening half, the Paladins would mount what was a 12-4 run to get within two, bookending the scoring run with three pointers from Marcus Foster and JP Pegues, as the Paladins got to within 29-27 with 3:27 remaining in the opening half.

However, with the Terriers clinging to a 31-29 lead late in the opening half, Wofford would end up closing out the half on an 8-0 run to take a 10-point, 39-29, lead into the half. 

Wofford's spurt to end the half in the final 90 seconds of the opening frame would begin with a Dillion Bailey layup and conclude with a Kyler Filewich layup off an offensive rebound and put-back, staking the Terriers to their halftime lead.

Wofford would push its lead to as much 15 in the second half, at 50-35, following a jumper in the paint by Cory Tripp, which gave the Terriers a 50-35 lead with 16:16 remaining. Wofford started the second half in almost identical fashion to how it had started the game, outscoring the Paladins 21-8 in the opening four minutes of the frame. 

Furman would respond in much the same fashion that it had in the first as well, getting back into the game with a 12-2 run, which started with a PJay Smith Jr. three-pointer and then a three-point play the old-fashioned way, as the Paladins got six-point right off the bat to make it a 52-45 contest with 13:03 remaining.  

From there, Marcus Foster's layup with get the Paladins to within five, at 52-47, with 11:01 remaining. However, it would be as close as the Paladins would get for the remainder of the game, as the Terriers quickly grew the lead back to double digits after a Filewich jumper and a Jeremy Lorenz timely triple, which made it a 57-47 contest with 10:14 remaining. 

From there, the Paladins would trim it under double figures only once more the entire game, as PJay Smith's layup got Furman to within eight, at 57-49, with just under 10 minutes left. However, the Terriers immediately pushed the margin back to 15 following an Anthony Arrington layup in the paint followed by a three-pointer by Arrington following a missed triple on the other end by Smith, as Wofford assumed a 64-49 lead with 7:38 remaining.

Wofford would eventually take its largest lead of the game at 17 points, following a pair of Lorenz foul shots to make it a 68-51 Terrier lead with just over five minutes remaining. The Paladins would get as close as 10 three more times in the game, which included the final margin, as Marcus Foster secured his second-straight 20-point outing with a triple with 25 seconds remaining, setting the final score line, at 77-67. 

The Paladins will look to rebound from the loss in Spartanburg on Wednesday night, as the Paladins head for Charleston, S.C., and a 7 p.m. EST tip-off time with The Citadel. The Paladins won the first matchup between the two this season, downing the Bulldogs, 82-68, at Timmons Arena in early January. 

However, Furman dropped a 69-65 contest in their last visit to The Citadel (9-12, 1-7 SoCon) last February. That would prove to be Furman's final loss until a second round setback in the NCAA Tournament to San Diego State (L, 52-75). 

Wofford returns to the court on Wednesday evening, as it heads to Birmingham and the Pete Hanna Center to do battle with Samford (18-3, 7-1 SoCon). Tip-off for that contest is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST.