By Jordan Ferrell (@FerrellonFM983)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Wofford Terriers are coming off a solid first full season under the leadership of Dwight Perry. Last year, they finished over .500, going 17-15, including a 10-8 mark in the Southern Conference, which landed them fifth in the standings, ultimately bowing out in the opening round of the SoCon tournament with a 75-57 loss to Chattanooga.
The offseason for Wofford was one that would end with mounds of positivity, but simultaneously be marred with controversy. On a high note, Wofford lost only one starter from last year’s team and retained eight players, among them senior guard Corey Tripp, who returns for something rare in the mid-major ranks in this era of transfer portals and NIL deals, a fourth season. Tripp, the leading scorer from 2023-2024 with an average of 15.6 points per game, is complemented nicely by fellow senior Kyler Filewich, a preseason all-SoCon selection who averaged 9.4 points and nearly just as many rebounds per game last season.
“It's huge,” Perry said of retaining Tripp and Filewich. “The continuity the team has with those guys leading the way and knowing what it's supposed to look like every day, not just in games, but in practice is invaluable. So it's great to have those guys in the fold and also have Jackson Sivills and Dillon Bailey coming back to finish out their career here as well.”
As noted above, the Terriers returned several other pieces that made significant contributions in the 2023-2024 campaign. Jackson Sivills posted an average of almost 10 points and five rebounds per game, while Bailey was the second-leading scorer on the roster with 11.8 points per contest. Three others made their way back that saw meaningful minutes in sophomore forward Jeremy Lorenz, junior guard Anthony Arrington, Jr, and sophomore forward Belal Al-Shakery. Wofford also added another key piece that is capable of making a huge impact in games that you may have heard of before if you follow college basketball in Spartanburg County (or mid-major hoops in general) close enough, junior guard Justin Bailey. The Taylors native transferred to Wofford from its nearby neighbor out of the Big South Conference, USC Upstate, where he averaged 11.8 points per contest and shot 51.5 percent, including 32.9 percent from 3-point range last year.
On the negative side, Wofford was placed on probation by the NCAA back in September for violations involving forcing players to attend film sessions and other team activities on scheduled days off under former head coach Jay McAuley. The probation does not ban the Terriers from postseason play, but does limit the amount of practice time they get per week this season along with a fine from the NCAA.
But, the fact they are under probation did very little to dampen the enthusiasm for the new season, nor the expectations of Terrier fans going into 2024-2025. A lively crowd filed into Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Monday for a men’s and women’s doubleheader, with the men opening against Division II Erskine College. This marked the sixth straight season the Terriers opened with a non-Division I opponent, and the first meeting with the Flying Fleet since 2021, where Wofford just missed the century mark with a 98-41 victory.
This game would fare no differently, as Wofford created all the cushion it would need in the opening minutes, going on a 7-0 run. That 7-0 run was turned into a 21-3 explosion over the next six-plus minutes. The Terriers saw just one dry spell in the entirety of the contest, but their defense did a great job of keeping Erskine from being able to put together any more than just a brief 5-0 spurt.
Out of the half, Wofford once again got hot, starting off with a 10-0 push that extended to a 24-6 run. In the end, the Terriers cruised past 100 points, knocking off the Fleet, 112-58.
“We did a great job sharing the ball and playing inside-out,” Perry said. “I thought there were definitely areas to clean up. We turned the ball over too many times, but overall, I thought our guys moved the ball well. We didn't connect at a high percentage from three, but I thought the majority of the shots we took were great. I'm looking forward to seeing as we continue with the season, if we can get better quality looks. But, on the offensive end, over 40 minutes, I like where our offense can be.”
The Terriers had seven different players score in double figures, led in part thanks to a big debut from Bailey, who had 16 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including three rebounds, two assists, and five steals.
“I can’t say enough good things about Justin,” said Perry of Bailey. “The guy has a boundless amount of energy. He's a high-level defender that plays with great energy on both ends of the floor, and most importantly, he has a great team-first attitude that is infectious in our whole program.”
Bailey’s output was matched by Lorenz, who also had 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting to go with six rebounds. Sivills added 15 points while three other Terriers each had 11 points, including Filewich (5-of-6 from the field and 10 rebounds to make for a double-double), Dillon Bailey, and Al-Shakery, who also put up a double-double with 12 rebounds.
“Overall, I was glad to get the win,” Perry reiterated. “You can never take them for granted. I’m glad we did a really good job of sharing the ball. We had 30 assists (and) 13 turnovers. That's pretty good. I thought we did a really good job rebounding the ball. We outrebounded them by maybe 35. When you take care of the ball and you rebound the way we did, usually good things happen. It was good to have all these guys back here and obviously finish the game healthy. That's always a plus as well.”
Wofford will now turn its attention to a road test at Lipscomb this Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.
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