Box Score Game Box (pdf)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – On Thursday night, the Wofford men’s basketball team used a 12-1 run in the second half on the way to a 62-55 win over The Citadel at McAlister Fieldhouse. Karl Cochran hit four three pointers in the second half and added a huge block in the final minute to give the Terriers a fourth straight SoCon win.
Wofford is now 13-8 on the season and 6-3 in the Southern Conference, while The Citadel is 4-16 overall and 1-8 in conference play. The Terriers had four players score in double figures, led by Karl Cochran with 18 points. Kevin Giltner scored 15 points, Drew Crowell had 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Brad Loesing had ten points. The Bulldogs were led by Bo Holston with 14 points. Mike Groselle, the SoCon scoring leader, was held to ten points. DeVontae Wright led all players with nine rebounds.
“The block by Karl Cochran was an unbelievable play,” said Wofford head coach Mike Young. “If you consider that goes in, we are up two and it is a different dynamic. We will take it and get ready for Charleston on Saturday. We have to play better on Saturday. We have to play better defensively and with a better pace. I thought our flow was bad and we did not have that razor-sharp focus and attention to detail that we have come to expect from this team. We will try to have that back on Saturday.”
The Bulldogs scored first on a free throw and took an 8-6 lead five minutes into the contest. Wofford turned the ball over four times in the first five minutes, but the lead for The Citadel was only 10-8 at the 11:27 mark. The Terriers scored the next six points and took a 14-12 lead with 9:20 left in the first half.
After a three by Kevin Giltner, Wofford had a 17-12 advantage with seven minutes on the clock. Aerris Smith added two more points for the Terriers, but the Bulldogs answered with the next two buckets for a 19-16 score with 3:49 left in the first half. A three by Ashton Moore tied the game at 19 with two minutes left. The Bulldogs continued the 9-0 run to take a 21-19 lead with ten seconds left, but a lay-up by Drew Crowell with one second on the clock tied the game at 21.
To open the second half, the Bulldogs scored the first six points for a 27-21 lead three minutes into play. A three by Karl Cochran cut the advantage to 29-26 at 15:42. Another three by Cochran and a jumper by Brad Loesing tied the game at 31. After a tie at 33, Brad Loesing hit a three for a 36-33 lead with 12:02 left in the second half.
The game was tied at 36, 38 and 40 before a three by Bo Holston gave the Bulldogs a 43-40 lead with eight minutes to go in the contest. Brad Loesing answered with a three and two free throws by Kevin Giltner gave Wofford a 45-43 lead at 7:08. The Terriers continued the 9-0 with a lay-up by Drew Crowell at 5:18 for a 49-43 advantage. A three by Karl Cochran gave Wofford a 52-44 lead with 4:45 left in the half as part of a 12-1 run.
Karl Cochran added his fourth three pointer of the second half at 3:55 to give Wofford a 55-46 lead. With 2:01 left in the game, the Terriers had a 57-50 advantage. The Bulldogs hit a three by DaVontae Wright with 1:18 remaining to cut the lead to 59-55. Karl Cochran came up with a huge block at one end and Kevin Giltner hit two free throws on the other for a 61-55 lead with 34 seconds left. Lee Skinner then added one free throw with 11 seconds remaining for the final 62-55 margin.
The Terriers shot 44.2% from the floor for the evening, while The Citadel shot 43.5% overall. Wofford finished 7-23 from behind the arc. The Bulldogs went 4-of-14 from three. Wofford was 9-of-11 from the free throw line, while The Citadel went 11-of-14 from the charity stripe. The Terriers had a 30 to 28 lead on the glass.
For the first time this season, Wofford was tied at the half. It marked the tenth straight win for the Terriers at McAlister Fieldhouse and it was also the eleventh straight overall win over the Bulldogs. Wofford has also won 13 straight over The Citadel in football.
Wofford completes the three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon at the College of Charleston. The 3:00 p.m. contest will be broadcast on the SoCon Television Network and ESPN3. The next home game will be Monday, January 30 against Western Carolina.
