Box Score Game box (pdf)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Wofford men’s basketball team was defeated 51-48 by Chattanooga on Thursday night at the McKenzie Arena. The game was tied with a minute left, but the Mocs hit seven of eight free throws to close out the contest.
Wofford is now 9-8 on the season and 2-3 in the Southern Conference, while Chattanooga is 9-9 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The Terriers had trouble finding the bottom of the basket, hitting only 28.4% from the floor and 17.1% from behind the arc. Wofford was led by Brad Loesing with 21 points and Lee Skinner with nine rebounds. The Mocs were led by Z. Mason with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
“I don’t know if I have ever been a part of anything like that,” said Wofford head coach Mike Young. “We had great shot after great shot after great shot, but we could not get it in the hole. Give credit to Chattanooga for defending us pretty well. We had our cracks at it, but we could not find that cluster of possessions where we got juice and do what we do night in and night out. There will be better days.”
The Mocs opened the game with a three by Keegan Bell and they built a 7-2 lead four minutes into the first half. Karl Cochran hit a three and Brad Loesing added a jumper to cut the lead to 9-7, but Chattanooga scored the next four points for a 13-7 lead with 11:40 on the clock. The Mocs pushed the advantage to 20-10 after a three by Ricky Taylor at the 7:32 mark.
Brad Loesing ended the 5-0 run by the Mocs with a jumper with 5:40 on the clock in the first half. Kevin Giltner hit a three pointer with four minutes left in the half which cut the lead to 22-17. Back-to-back lay-ups by Drew Crowell made it a 24-21 game with 2:27 remaining in the half. The Mocs scored the final four points of the half to take a 28-21 lead at the break.
Chattanooga continued the 6-0 run by scoring first in the second half. A three by Kevin Giltner cut the lead to 30-26 two minutes into play. Brad Loesing hit a three after a defensive stop to make it a one point game at 16:41 in the second half with a 30-29 score. Another three by Brad Loesing tied the game at 32, but the Mocs answered with the next six points for a 38-32 lead with 12:30 remaining in the half.
Neither team scored for the next three minutes until Brad Loesing hit a three. A turnover by the Mocs turned into a dunk for Karl Cochran, cutting the lead to 38-37 with 8:34 left in the second half. The game was tied at 38 and 40 before the Mocs hit one of four free throws for a 40-41 advantage. After another three minute scoring drought, Chattanooga took a 43-40 lead on jumper with three minutes on the clock. Karl Cochran hit a lay-up with 1:32 left to make it a 44-42 game and Drew Crowell tied it with a minute left at 44.
The Mocs hit two free throws for a 46-44 lead with 47 seconds left in the second half. Two more free throws by Chattanooga gave them a four point lead with 28 seconds on the clock, but Brad Loesing cut the lead in half with 20 seconds left. Keegan Bell hit one of two free throws for a three point lead with sixteen seconds, but then Kevin Giltner was fouled on a three pointer with 8.1 remaining. After missing the first, he hit the next two for a one point game at 49-48. Keegan Bell added two more free throws with six seconds left for a 51-48 score, which was the final after the Terriers missed a last second three pointer.
The Terriers shot 28.4% from the floor for the evening, while Chattanooga shot 39.6% overall. Wofford finished 6-35 from behind the arc. The Mocs went 2-of-18 from three. Wofford was 4-of-7 from the free throw line, while Chattanooga went 11-of-20 from the charity stripe. The Mocs had a 45-40 lead on the glass.
Kevin Giltner has hit a three pointer in the last twelve games. Brad Loesing scored twenty or more points for the fourth time this season.
Wofford’s next home game will be Saturday, January 14 against Georgia Southern at 7:00 p.m. at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
