Freshman Jackson Paveletzke scored six of his game-high 22 points on free throws in the closing seconds as Wofford stunned Texas A&M 67-62 Tuesday afternoon in College Station, Texas.
Paveletzke’s free throws all came in the final 20 seconds as the Terriers (8-5) held on for their first win over a Southeastern Conference opponent after earlier losses at LSU and Vanderbilt. It also was their first road win after five defeats.
B.J. Mack joined Paveletzke in double figures with 10 points for Wofford.
Wade Taylor IV scored 20 points as the only double-digit scorer for the Aggies (6-5), who suffered their first loss at home in six outings.
The Terriers overcame a 10-point early second-half deficit and runs of 10-0 and 8-0 helped put them up 61-57 with under two minutes left in the game.
The Aggies got it down to 61-59 on Taylor’s free throw with 32.7 seconds left but were down two possessions after Paveletzke’s free throws with 19.6 seconds remaining. The Aggies then turned the ball over on their ensuing possession.
Taylor had a 3-pointer for the Aggies with 7.5 seconds remaining to make it a one-possession game, but Paveletzke closed it out from the line with two free throws a second later.
The Aggies broke from a 2-2 tie to an early nine-point lead at 21-12, but the Terriers patiently kept chipping away and got their deficit down to just two points twice in the first half.
Thanks to a couple of late breakaway dunks by Solomon Washington, the Aggies went into the break with a 30-26 advantage. Paveletzke scored the Terriers’ first nine points and was the only player in double figures for either team in the first half with 11 points.
The Aggies opened the second half with a 12-6 spurt for a 42-32 lead less than four minutes into the period. But just like the first half, the Terriers didn’t fade and went on a 12-2 run that produced a 44-44 tie just four minutes later. Adam Silas’ driving layup then gave the Terriers their first lead of the game, 46-44, at the 11:45 mark, and it was a back-and-forth game the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media