CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Fletcher Magee scored 18 points and No. 24 Wofford made a successful debut as an AP Top 25 team by trouncing Chattanooga 80-54 on Thursday for its 16th consecutive victory.
Wofford, a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with fewer than 1,600 students, moved into the Top 25 for the first time in school history Monday. The Terriers responded by showcasing the depth and 3-point shooting prowess that got them to this point.
The Terriers (25-4, 17-0 Southern Conference) haven’t lost since falling 98-87 at Mississippi State on Dec. 19. Their only other losses this season were against No. 5 North Carolina, Oklahoma and No. 15 Kansas.
A victory Saturday at Samford would make Wofford the first Southern Conference team to finish the regular season unbeaten in league competition since Davidson in 2007-08. That squad featured Stephen Curry and advanced to an NCAA regional final.
Cameron Jackson had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Wofford. Nathan Hoover added 11 points for the Terriers, who shot 11 of 25 from 3-point range.
Donovann Toatley scored 16 and David Jean-Baptiste and Ramon Vila each had 10 for Chattanooga (12-18, 7-10). The Mocs have lost four of their last five and eight of their last 10 games.
After Magee sank a 3-pointer with 1 second left in the first half to give Wofford a 10-point edge at the break, the Terriers opened the second half on a 20-2 run to build a 61-33 advantage.
Wofford went on that 20-2 run without getting any points from Magee, who tops the Southern Conference in scoring and leads all Division I players in 3-pointers. Magee’s only points of the second half came on a 3-pointer with 4:08 remaining.
Magee already had done enough damage in the first half, when he scored 15 points and shot 4 of 6 from 3-point range. He ended up going 5 of 7 from beyond the arc and 5 of 10 overall.
BIG PICTURE
Wofford: The Terriers showed no signs they were feeling any extra pressure in their first game as a ranked team. Although the game was close for most of the first half, Wofford eventually pulled away for an impressive road win.
Chattanooga: In the earlier meeting between these teams on Jan. 26, Chattanooga had an eight-point lead in the second half before falling 80-69. The rematch wasn’t nearly as close. Chattanooga entered the night ranked third in the Southern Conference in 3-point percentage (.371), but the Mocs went just 4 of 26 from beyond the arc Thursday. Chattanooga shot 8 of 27 overall and 1 of 13 on 3-point attempts in the second half.
UP NEXT
Wofford is at Samford on Saturday.
Chattanooga hosts Furman on Saturday.