Uprising in the Upstate

SPARTANBURG -- Noah Dahlman scored 19 points and Wofford ended a 21-game losing streak to South Carolina with a 68-61 win on Saturday night.

The Terriers (6-6) already had a victory over a Southeastern Conference team this season, beating Georgia, 60-57, on the road Nov. 17.

This time they were not going to be denied in the Gamecocks' second visit in the last 50 years.

"We came out here and busted our hump and did the things that we've done from Day 1 and we beat a darn good basketball team," Wofford coach Mike Young said.

Clinging to a one-point lead with two minutes remaining, the Terriers went on a 9-0 run as the Gamecocks missed four shots in a row. Seven of the points came from the free-throw line as South Carolina missed three 3-pointers and a jumper during that time frame.

Jamar Diggs sealed the game at the free throw line with four in the final minute. He also dished off to Dahlman on a layup for the only field goal during the closing run.

Diggs finished with 16 points and made 5 of 8 from the foul line. Dahlman added 11 rebounds as the smaller Terriers outrebounded South Carolina 43-33, including a 22-11 advantage on offensive

rebounds.

"Our effort wasn't very good," South Carolina coach Darrin Horn said. "Give Wofford credit, they outplayed us in every area of the game. They played like they wanted the game more and they deserved to win."

Wofford trailed by three at the half but opened the second half with an 8-0 run to take a five-point lead. South Carolina (7-3) went back up by four points but the Terriers answered back and took the lead for good, 50-49, when Tim Johnson threw down a dunk over Sam Muldrow with 10:26 remaining.

The Gamecocks got within one point when Devan Downey made 1 of 2 free throws to set up the final two minutes. That would be South Carolina's last points until a meaningless 3-pointer from Brandis Raley-Ross at the buzzer.

"Defense is what won it," Diggs said. "You aren't always going to hit shots but if you can stop the other team from scoring and get the rebound, you can win the game."

Downey finished with 17 points to lead South Carolina but was only 5-for-14 from the field. Raley-Ross added 14 and Muldrow chipped in 10 points.

Young thought the defense on Downey was the difference.

"I thought our bigs did a nice job taking care of him off of ball screens," Young said. "That's where he gets lots of space and he can just blow you up. You don't guard him with one guy, you guard him with five and we did that, and that was a big part of the game."

The Terriers next play at UNC-Asheville on Monday while the Gamecocks host Furman on Monday night.

3-Point Goals -- USC 9-22 (Muldrow 1-2, Downey 1-5, Raley-Ross 3-7, Spinella 1-1, Galloway 2-4, Baniulis 1-3); Wofford 4-16 (Salters 3-8, Diggs 0-1, Godzinski 0-1, Loesing 0-3, Rundles 1-1, Giltner 0-2). Steals -- USC 4 (Jackson, Downey, Raley-Ross, Wilder); Wofford 8 (Salters 3). Blocks -- USC 10 (Muldrow 3); Wofford 3 (Johnson 2). Turnovers -- USC 16 (Downey 5); Wofford 11 (Diggs 3). A -- 3,500.