After a hard fought game, a short-handed Terriers squad ran out of steam against their SoCon Co-Leader ETSU and fell 86-72 in front of a reduced crowd due to restrictions resulting from the recent widespread snow storm in the Carolinas. The Terriers came into the game holding a win-streak against every other team in the SoCon and tied for first place with the Bucs in the SoCon.
Wofford falls back into a three way tie with Mercer and Furman in 2nd place in the league at 15-8 (7-3). The Terriers seemed to struggle to find their usual intensity on the glass and defensively, with SoCon steals leader and Wofford’s leading scorer Kahmare Holmes out with an ankle injury sustained against Chattanooga on Thursday night. Kahmare is 2nd in PPG in the SoCon, and also the Terriers’ leading rebounder.
Wofford fell to as much as an 11-point deficit in the first half, but battled back before halftime to go into the break down 2. Through the first 10 minutes of the first half, the teams were neck and neck, trading leads in a single score game. ETSU, despite not scoring a field goal in just under 8 minutes from the 9:16 mark to 1:23 in the second half, extended their lead to 8 again before Wofford was forced to foul to stop the clock and extend the game.
Many Terriers gained very valuable playing time in a high-intensity, high-stakes game that could prove to be a huge difference maker for Wofford in Asheville, as multiple players saw extended minutes due to the injuries to Luke Flynn & Kahmare Holmes. 6’7″ PF Cannon Richards has also been sidelined for nearly the whole season after suffering an injury Week 2 against Milwaukee, meaning all three returning players on the Terriers roster are currently out injured.
The Terriers had gone on a 4-game winning streak since Luke Flynn went down injured against Chattanooga, but with another Wofford starter out, the under-manned Terriers just seemed to run out of steam down the stretch. That said, the team played admirably with several factors working against them, and with a healthy Terriers line-up it almost certainly would have been a much different game, weather impacts aside.
Wofford will head out on the road again for their upcoming mid-week matchup, this time to Lexington, VA to face VMI in Cameron Hall. VMI comes into the game having lost 8 straight in SoCon play, and really struggling to find an identity without preseason SoCon Player of the Year Rickie Bradley Jr, who has missed the entire season thus far with an undisclosed injury. The Terriers will return home on Saturday to face Western Carolina in Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium at 4 PM.