The Wofford men’s basketball team suffered its first conference loss of the season on Saturday, falling to the Mercer Bears 109-97 at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia.
Nils Machowski led the Terriers with a game-high 33 points and five assists. Kahmare Holmes contributed 22 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Cayden Vasko added 18 points along with four assists and five rebounds. Chace Watley provided a boost off the bench with 15 points.
Head coach Kevin Giltner addressed the team’s performance after the game: “We have some things that we have to fix, and it’s not going to be fixed overnight,” said Giltner. “If we can continue to get incrementally better throughout January and February, we can do something pretty cool. I think we are pretty good offensively, but we are playing with fire just trying to outscore people.”
The contest began with Machowski hitting a three-pointer on his first attempt before Mercer responded with a quick run. The Bears capitalized on their size advantage in the paint while both teams traded scoring runs throughout the first half. Despite Wofford’s efforts—including several key three-pointers from Machowski—Mercer built a double-digit lead by halftime, going into the break up 58-46.
Wofford opened the second half strong with a 10-4 run fueled by turnovers from Mercer, narrowing the deficit to six points. Both teams dealt with foul trouble early in the half as seven players picked up multiple fouls. The Terriers managed to bring Mercer’s lead under five for the first time since early in the game before Mercer answered back with another scoring burst.
Late in regulation, Wofford trailed by five before Mercer used another run to extend its lead once more. Despite late three-pointers from Machowski and Vasko and an aggressive full-court press, Wofford could not close the gap as Mercer sealed their win at the free throw line.
Starters for Wofford included Cayden Vasko, Brian Sumpter, Luke Flynn, Kahmare Holmes, and Nils Machowski. The team allowed 58 points in one half—the most they have given up this season—and is now 1-6 when trailing at halftime. Notably, this was also their first loss after scoring over 90 points in regulation play this century.
The Terriers (11-6 overall; 3-1 SoCon) will return home to Spartanburg for their next matchup against Chattanooga on Wednesday night at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m., with coverage available via ESPN+ or on the Wofford Digital Network.
