Terriers win battle on glass, knock off North Alabama

Dillon Bailey’s 18 points led three Wofford players in double figures Sunday as Terriers crushed North Alabama. (Photo by Mark Olencki/Wofford Athletics)

By Jordan Ferrell (@FerrellonFM983)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Since losing to Presbyterian back on November 13, Wofford has not fared much better as far as its overall record is concerned.

The Terriers got popped on the road at Duke three days later, then rebounded with an 81-73 win over St. Thomas in the opening game of the Cream City Challenge in Milwaukee before ending Thanksgiving week with back-to-back close losses in as many days, falling 76-74 to Milwaukee and 79-74 to Portland State. 

“If I'm being 100 percent honest, I thought it didn't go our way because I don't think we made it go our way,” said Wofford head coach Dwight Perry. “The game honors toughness and we say that a lot. I don't think we were particularly tough, especially down the stretch on either side of the ball against Milwaukee and Portland State. We didn't take care of the ball or get stops, and we didn't rebound. That's really the biggest thing we talked about over this week. We're doing a great job offensively making shots, but we have to keep taking care of the ball. That's tough. We have to defend better as a unit. That's also tough. Most importantly, we have to finish those defensive possessions with tough and physical rebounding. Obviously that is also tough. And I thought we did a great job of that today.” 

The Terriers most definitely did rebound the ball well and defend with physicality in their return to Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium Sunday afternoon, as they hosted the University of North Alabama Lions (5-3 overall) in the first-ever meeting on the hardwood between the two schools. 

Wofford got off to a slow start offensively, which allowed UNA to start the game on a 4-0 burst. Jackson Sivills, who returned to the starting lineup after missing each of the last two games in Milwaukee, got the scoring started for the Terriers at the 18:20 mark. About a minute later, Anthony Arrington, Jr. drained Wofford’s first three-pointer of the game to give the hosts the lead.

Heading into the first media timeout, the Terriers seemed to have finally found a stride on the offensive side of the ball, having opened up an 8-6 lead after Dillon Bailey got on the board with his first triple of the game. From that point on, Wofford took complete control of the game and never looked back, extending to an 18-3 tear ahead of the next stoppage to up the advantage to 18-7. Bailey logged his third straight game scoring in double figures, with 18 points to lead the way for Wofford. 

“Dillon brings a lot to the table for this team,” Perry said. “He has experience, leadership, and tenacity with a great personality that's infectious to our whole team. Obviously all of those are non-basketball related, but when it comes to basketball, he's a really skilled, smart player who is tough, can guard the ball, and understands angles. His ability to read the defenses and make great plays for us right now that, while not sexy, are simple and effective, is really helping our team be better.”

Bailey’s performance was part of a second consecutive game with three different players scoring in double digits for the Terriers. Corey Tripp finished the night with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Kyler Filewich logged 11 with nine boards and a pair of assists. Sivills ended up just short of being the fourth on that list, tallying nine points. 

Although the offense was effective enough, shooting just shy of 50 percent from the floor as a team, the key difference for the Terriers was their defense. Wofford had several periods where North Alabama could have gotten back in the game, with multiple scoreless streaks in the second half. Despite that, the Lions could never pull any closer than within 16 points, due to Wofford’s imposing presence off the glass. The Terriers out-rebounded UNA, 45-25, with 30 of those rebounds coming on the defensive side of the ball. Tripp and Filewich alone combined for 18 boards. That was enough to hold the Lions at bay so the Terriers could get several spurts of offense and keep the game out of reach, as Wofford clawed its way to a 74-54 win, its third victory of the season. 

“I thought our ability to rebound the ball really helped us”, said Perry of his team’s effort on the glass. “But, going forward, we have to continue to fight for great shots. But, by far the most important thing we have to get better at is taking care of the ball. We still had 14 turnovers tonight. We did a better job in the first half, but we have to take care of the ball better over the course of 40 minutes consistently for us to continue to have success.” 

Wofford, now 3-5 overall, will look to build on its success in this game on Wednesday, as the Terriers host Gardner-Webb. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.