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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – In the semifinals of the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament, the Wofford men’s basketball team defeated Western Carolina 86-72 on Sunday at McKenzie Arena. With the win, the Terriers advance to the championship game for the second straight season.
Wofford is 20-12 on the season and Western Carolina is 18-15 overall. Wofford was the #2 seed in the South Division and Western Carolina was the #1 seed in the North Division. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 18 points and Jamar Diggs and Cameron Rundles with 17 points each. Three players had seven rebounds each. The Catamounts were led by Mike Williams with 25 points and Harouna Mutombo with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Catamounts scored the first five points of the contest, but Wofford tied it at five after a three by Cameron Rundles and a bucket by Jamar Diggs. Western Carolina scored the next four points, but the Terriers answered with four points to tie the game at nine with 14:08 on the clock. A bucket by Cameron Rundles at 12:35 gave the Terriers their first lead of the game at 13-12. The Catamounts led at 14-13, but the Wofford went on a 13-1 run to take a 26-15 lead at 8:16 in the first half. Six different players scored for the Terriers during the run.
Wofford kept gradually increasing the lead and were up 32-19 after two free throws by Brad Loesing at 5:40 in the first half. A put-back and a free throw by Nathan Parker with 4:16 left on the clock gave the Terriers a 38-24 advantage. After going up 40-24, the Catamounts went on a 10-1 run to cut the lead to 41-34 with a minute left in the half. Wofford got the final basket of the half to take a 45-36 lead into the break.
To open the second half, Harouna Mutombo scored four straight points for the Catamounts to make it a 45-40 game. Wofford would answer with the next seven points, capping the run with a three by Cameron Rundles for a 52-40 lead at the 15:05 mark. A three by Kevin Giltner with 12:27 on the clock made it a 58-46 advantage for the Terriers. A lay-up and free throw by Noah Dahlman just thirty seconds later gave Wofford a 61-48 lead.
Six straight made free throws by Terry Martin, Jamar Diggs and Noah Dahlman gave the Terriers a 69-54 advantage with 8:16 left in the second half. Cameron Rundles hit a jumper which was followed by a lay-up by Nathan Parker, but the Catamounts answered with a three to make it a 74-60 score with 4:14 on the clock. Western Carolina cut the lead to 76-66 with 3:03 remaining and it was 78-68 with two minutes left. Six straight free throws were made by Wofford for an 84-68 lead with 1:12 left. The final score was 86-72 in favor of the Terriers.
Wofford shot 54.0% from the floor and was 50.0% from three. From the free throw line, the Terriers were 80.0%. Western Carolina was 42.9% overall and was 35.7% from behind the arc. They were 61.9% from the line. The Terriers had a 38-30 lead on the glass. Richie Gordon fouled out for Western Carolina with 8:16 left in the game and Harouna Mutombo fouled out with 1:12 on the clock.
The game was a rematch of the 2010 Southern Conference Tournament semifinals, which was also won by Wofford. The Terriers reached the 20 win mark for the second straight season and it was the first back-to-back 20 win seasons since the 1963-64 and 1964-65 seasons. Wofford is in the championship game for the second time in school history.
Wofford will play the College of Charleston on Monday night at 9:00 p.m. in a game televised on ESPN2. The Cougars defeated Furman 63-58 in the other semifinal game on Sunday night.
