Tiras Wade had 18 points and seven rebounds to lead four East Tennessee State players in double figures as the Bucs broke open a tight game in the second half for an 81-61 Southern Conference victory in Spartanburg, S.C.
The Buccaneers (11-6, 5-1), the two-time defending SoCon North Division champions and the league’s winningest team over the last three years, led 30-29 at the intermission and scored the first 11 points of the second half to take control of the game.
David Eaton hit a 3-pointer to trim the Terrier deficit to 40-32 with 16:05 left, but the Bucs answered with a 9-1 run for a 49-33 lead at the 14:16 mark.
Eaton topped Wofford with a season-high 11 points, including three 3-pointers. It was just two points shy of a career-best, while being his highest scoring game against a Division I opponent.
Forward Jerald Fields filled the stat sheet with 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals for the Bucs. Zakee Wadood added 15 points and eight rebounds while Tim Smith scored 14 points.
The Terriers (7-9, 3-3) fell behind 18-4 to open the game, but rallied to take their only lead of the night at 29-28 on an Adrien Borders free throw with 34 seconds remaining in the first half. Wade then converted a layup with three seconds left on the clock to give ETSU its 30-29 halftime lead.
“I was really proud of the way our guys played defensively,” ETSU coach Ed DeChellis said. “This was, I think, our best game of the year offensively and defensively. I’m proud of our team because it’s tough coming in here and winning. I’m very happy with this win.”
ETSU shot 50.0 percent for the game, including 58.1 in the second half. Wofford was just 36.7 percent from the field and hit 11-19 free-throws.
“I’m not really sure what went wrong tonight,” Wofford coach Mike Young said. “The maturity we showed against Chattanooga (a 79-71 win on Monday) was not there tonight.
“ETSU has the best post players in the league and Ed (DeChellis) does a great job with them.”
Mike Lenzly added 10 points and a team-best six rebounds for Wofford. Tyler Berg, Adrien Borders and Jeff Tarr each scored seven points. Tarr’s season-high points came in just seven minutes.
The Bucs will host Davidson today at 7:30 p.m.

Author