Box Score Game box (pdf)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford men’s basketball team was back at Benjamin Johnson Arena after a five-game road trip and defeated Winthrop 70-55 on Wednesday night. The Terriers used a 23-3 run in the first half to build a lead that they would not relinquish.
Wofford moves to 3-5 on the season, while Winthrop is 2-3. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with a career-high 27 points, as he was 10-of-14 from the floor with five three pointers. Lee Skinner added eleven points and had four rebounds. The Eagles were led by Derrick Henry with 15 points and Joab Jerome with eleven points.
“We came back in here tonight and were able to put some things together across the board,” said head coach Mike Young. “The point guard play was good and the assists and turnovers are Wofford numbers. We were up five in rebounds at the half which was huge. I am proud of our team. We needed it and we can build on this one and continue to get better.”
The Terriers opened the scoring on two free throws by Karl Cochran and had a 6-3 lead four minutes into the game. A fall-away jumper by Indiana Faithfull gave Wofford a 13-7 advantage with eleven minutes left in the first half. After a steal by Aerris Smith, Faithfull added a fast break lay-up to make it 19-8 with 9:19 on the clock.
Wofford extended the lead to 25-8 after Karl Cochran put back a missed shot. Cochran hit back-to-back threes with six minute left first half to make it a 31-10 game. Spencer Collins hit a three pointer with under three minutes on the clock for a 38-15 advantage. At the break, the Terriers had a 42-19 lead and were shooting 61.5% from the floor.
In the second half, the Eagles scored the first four points to cut the lead to 42-23, but John Swinton answered with a three two minutes into play. A long jumper by Karl Cochran made it a 47-23 game at the 16:20 mark. Karl Cochran added two more three pointers to take a 55-29 lead with 11:52 remaining in the second half. After Wofford took a 59-33 lead on a bucket by Lee Skinner, the Eagles used a quick 7-0 run to cut the score to 59-40.
Karl Cochran added another three to end the run and give the Terriers a 62-40 advantage with under seven minutes to play. The Eagles cut the lead to 64-50 after a three by Derrick Henry at the 3:29 mark. A lay-up by Aerris Smith though made it a 68-50 lead with under two minutes remaining. Winthrop kept up the pressure and used a 5-0 run to make it a 68-55 game, but the Terriers added two free throws in the final minute for the 70-55 final score.
Wofford shot a season-best 49.1% from the floor while Winthrop shot 38.0% overall. The Terriers were 7-of-16 from three, while the Eagles were 5-of-21 from behind the arc. Wofford was 9-of-12 from the free throw line, while Winthrop was 12-of-15 from the line. The Terriers had a 33 to 29 lead on the glass and had 17 assists to only ten turnovers.
Wofford will host Gardner-Webb next Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. before beginning Southern Conference play on December 8 at Davidson.
