Box Score Box Score (pdf)
Game highlights
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford men’s basketball team was defeated 66-61 in overtime by Samford at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Bulldogs scored the final seven points of regulation to send the game to overtime, then outscored the Terriers 12-7 in the extra period. The loss ended a six game winning streak for Wofford.
Wofford is now 15-9 on the season and 8-4 in the Southern Conference, while Samford is 9-14 overall and 6-6 in conference play. The Terriers had four players score in double figures, led by Brad Loesing with 17 points. Kevin Giltner added 14 points and Karl Cochran scored ten. Lee Skinner had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high ten rebounds. The Bulldogs had five players score in double figures, led by Raijon Kelly with 17 points.
“The pace was not very good and the flow was not good,” said Wofford head coach Mike Young. “Samford played well. They came in here with a good plan and they played better than we did. Up seven with 2:22 left in the game, we need to get out of there with that but we did not do it today. This team has been so good night in and night out and they play the right way. This was a day where the opponent came in a played a little bit better than the home team and deserved to win the game. Tomorrow is a new day and we will go up the road on Monday and look forward to going at it again.”
The Terriers scored first and took a 5-2 lead after a three pointer by Kevin Giltner. The game was tied at five at 15:27 after a three by the Bulldogs. After three pointers by Brad Loesing and Karl Cochran, Wofford had an 11-9 lead at 13:55. Samford regained the lead at 14-13 after a three by Will Cook after eight minutes of play in the first half. Kevin Giltner added a three with 10:50 on the clock for a 16-14 advantage.
The game was tied at 16 and 18 before Samford scored for a 20-18 lead at the seven minute mark. The Bulldogs continued the 8-0 run and took a 24-18 lead with 4:50 left on the clock after two free throws. Wofford ended the run with four straight points by Lee Skinner to make it a 24-22 game with three minutes left. After Skinner tied it at 24 with a jumper, Karl Cochran regained the lead for Wofford with a three to make it a 27-26 game with 1:36 remaining. Brad Loesing scored on a lay-up for Wofford at the end of the half for a 29-28 advantage at the break.
To open the second half, the Bulldogs hit a three and a lay-up for a 33-29 lead before Brad Loesing hit a three. Kevin Giltner gave Wofford a 34-33 lead, but Samford answered with a three. After Kevin Giltner was fouled taking a three, he hit two-of-three free throws for a 39-38 lead with 13:48 on the clock. Neither team scored for over three minutes until Karl Cochran hit a free throw and Drew Crowell added a lay-up for a 42-38 lead with ten minutes on the clock.
Karl Cochran hit a three with 8:20 on the clock to give the Terriers a 45-38 advantage. The Bulldogs scored the next points four to cut the lead to 45-42 with 6:41 remaining. After a three by Samford, Wofford answered with a bucket from Drew Crowell for a 49-45 score with under five minutes on the clock. A three by Brad Loesing with three minutes left made it a 54-47 game. The Bulldogs answered with a three and a lay-up to cut the lead to 54-52 with 1:27 remaining. Samford tied it with a lay-up with 40 seconds left. Wofford could not get a tip-in to fall in the final seconds and the game went to overtime.
In overtime, the Bulldogs scored first on a pair of free throws, but Wofford tied it on a shot by Lee Skinner. Samford added a jumper and two free throws for a 60-56 lead with 1:16 left in overtime. Drew Crowell hit a three from the corner with 56 seconds left to cut the lead to 60-59. The Bulldogs scored the next four points for a 64-59 lead with 24 seconds on the clock and held on for a 66-61 final score.
The Terriers shot 37.1% from the floor for the evening, while Samford shot 46.3% overall. Wofford finished 9-of-27 from behind the arc. The Bulldogs went 6-of-18 from three. Wofford was 6-of-9 from the free throw line, while Samford went 10-of-16 from the charity stripe. The Terriers had a 39 to 32 lead on the glass.
The game was the second overtime game of the season for the Terriers and also the second for the Bulldogs. Wofford has lost both overtime contests. Lee Skinner had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first win for Samford over Wofford since the Bulldogs joined the SoCon in 2008. The loss was the first this season for the Terriers when leading at the half, as they are now 13-1 when holding a lead at the break. Kevin Giltner has made a three pointer in each of the last nineteen games.
Wofford travels to Davidson on Monday, February 6 for a 7:00 p.m. contest, the first of three road games in six days for the Terriers.
