The Presbyterian College men's basketball team mounted several rallies in the second half but Wofford outlasted the Blue Hose in a 68-58 win Saturday evening at the Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C.
The Blue Hose drop to 3-3 while the Terriers move to 2-3 on the year. PC opens Big South play Wednesday, Dec. 2, with a 7 p.m., home game against Gardner-Webb.
Down by eight at intermission, a 9-1 run by PC to open the second half, which included Reggie Dillard's first three-pointer of the game, cut the Wofford lead to just four, 35-31, with just three minutes off the clock. The Terriers responded with the next eight of the game's 10 points to build back a double-digit lead, 43-33, 14:04 remaining.
The Blue Hose chipped away at the lead over the next several minutes, with a three-pointer by Ed Drew with just under seven to play, cutting the deficit to just three, 48-45.
Wofford had an answer for the rally, increasing the lead back to seven, 55-48, three minutes later off a Spencer Collins three. Collins would lead the Terriers with 21 points, 12 coming off four three-pointers.
DeSean Murray, who led the Blue Hose with 24 points, hit a jumper with 3:45 to go to make it a five-point game, but it was Collins again with another three to give the Terriers the 58-50 lead, under three to play.
The Blue Hose would not go away with layups by Darius Moore and Drew cut the game to two possessions, 60-54, with 1:40 left. PC made it a six point game again, 64-58, with 53 seconds to go off a Murray lay-up but that would be as close as the home team would get with the Terriers hitting clutch free throws to end the game with the 68-58 victory.
PC stormed out of the gates in the first half with eight straight, six coming from Murray, to help the Blue Hose build a 10-3 lead four minutes in. With the gap at 12-5, Collins hit his second three-pointer of the night, and added another basket, with Eric Garcia and Matthew Pegram connecting o four free throws, in a 9-0 run that gave the Terriers a 14-12 lead, 12:11 to go.
After PC cut the margin to one Wofford used an14-4 run, capped by a Magee three-pointer, over the next six minutes to extend the lead to 11, 29-18, with 4:19 before intermission. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch with the Terriers heading to the locker room with a 12-point 34-22 lead.
Leading the Blue Hose on the boards was Drew with eight, while it was Cameron Jackson for the Terriers with his seven.
Wofford hit 26-of-34 free throws and were six-of-14 from the three-point arc. The Terriers were 38.3% from the field, including 48.0% in the first half. PC held Wofford to just 27.3% in the second half. Wofford held the rebound advantage, 36-28, and had one less turnover, 13-14.
PC shot 42.6% for the game, including 51.6% in the second half. The Blue Hose hit 10-of-12 free throws and controlled the paint, 26-18.
