Terriers look to finish strong down final SoCon stretch
With just under 30 seconds left to play in the Jan. 17 basketball game between conference foes Wofford and Furman, the result was all but final–the host Terriers led by 15 against their rivals, and victory was in the air at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Still, the game clock would eclipse the shot clock on the possession, and something had to be done with the play.
Maybe it was the national television exposure (the game had been moved from the traditional Saturday evening tip to a Friday night to accommodate ESPNU coming to town) that prompted point guard Storm Murphy to escape a trap in the corner by bouncing the ball between a Furman defender’s legs before completing the play with a backdoor pass to forward Messiah Jones, who finished with a dunk. However, it was play-by-play announcer Matt Schick’s words,, “What happened here?” that Terrier fans may have found themselves repeating a week later after a deflating road loss to the Catamounts of Western Carolina.
If the Die Hard franchise taught us anything, it’s that sequels rarely live up to their precursors and while the Terriers have remained contenders in the SoCon race, the 2019-20 campaign is certainly not reflective of last season’s undefeated run through the SoCon on the way to a 30-5 record and the program’s first ever NCAA tournament win. Highlights, such as the dominant victory over the Paladins, a double OT win over UNC-Greensboro and yet another road win against the Tar Heels of Chapel Hill, have been mitigated by losses to William & Mary, Western Carolina and South Florida, in addition to having been swept by UT-Chattanooga for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
The unpredictable nature of the season has made it difficult to gauge how the team will perform down the final stretch. However, the UTC loss marks only the second defeat suffered at home this season. The Terriers sit in __ place in the conference standings with a __ record (__ SoCon), and have shown potential to contend for the SoCon championship. Hosted as per tradition at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, NC, the SoCon tournament begins March 5 for the women’s team and March 6 for the men’s team.
Three Terriers’ scoring averages currently sit in the double digits. Senior Nathan Hoover leads the team with __ ppg, and stands second in the nation in free-throw shooting percentage at an astounding __ clip. Hoover’s career high 31 points kept the Terriers in the game during the loss to Chattanooga. Juniors Storm Murphy and Chevez Goodwin have also been valuable contributors. Murphy leads the team in assists and shoots a __ field goal percentage on the way to __ ppg. Goodwin, who has seen a significant increase in playing time since last year, has stepped nicely into his new role, posting __ ppg and leading the team with __ rpg. The freshly minted SoCon player of the week for Jan. 28-Feb. 3 (averaging 20.5 ppg and 9.0 rpg in that time span) has anchored the Terriers in the paint on what is considered a rather undersized squad. After a road win over the rival Citadel Bulldogs, Goodwin downplayed his impressive performance and emphasized what a victory meant: “I feel like tonight we needed this win really badly, just because of how we played last game against Western [Carolina] and I know our team; we need these wins on the road as much as we do at home. So I’m glad we got out there and got the win. That’s all that really matters to me, honestly.”
Joining Goodwin down low is redshirt freshman Messiah Jones. The 6’6” Chicago native has proved critical off the bench for the Terriers with __ ppg (5 on the team) and __ rpg. Jones’ contributions go beyond statistics, however. Despite being consistently matched up against significantly taller and heavier opponents at the power forward position, Jones’ hustle and energy is evident on every possession. e has posted solid numbers in his rookie campaign. Other newcomers on the team who have found a role include hot-shooting redshirt freshman Isaiah Bigelow from Greensboro, NC, and shooting guard Zion Richardson from Plano, TX, both of whom earn consistent minutes. Sophomore transfer David Appelgren shows promise with an enormous 7’1” frame and an ever-improving condition while coming off an injury that sidelined him the first several weeks of the season. Freshman Morgan Safford began the season wearing an arm sling, and although he has since dressed out, he has not seen play time.