Box Score Game Box (pdf)
ELON, N.C. – The Wofford men’s basketball team was defeated 68-61 by Elon on Saturday night at Alumni Gym. The Terriers had a three point lead with 4:31 remaining, but the Phoenix outscored Wofford 11-3 to end the game. It was the third road contest in six days for the Terriers.
Wofford falls to 7-12 on the season and 1-5 in the Southern Conference. Elon is 11-7 overall and 4-2 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 18 points. Lee Skinner had 13 points and 14 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year and Spencer Collins added 14 points. The Phoenix was led by Jack Isenbarger with 17 points and Lucas Troutman had 16 points.
“I was proud of our basketball team on the floor tonight and they deserved a better outcome,” said head coach Mike Young. “We had some things go against us tonight that we did not have much control over and that bothers me. Credit Elon in making big plays down the stretch and that’s what older guys do. I feel as good about our team after losing as I have in recent memory. We are going to take this and get better when we get back out there on Thursday at home.”
The Phoenix scored the first six points of the game, but Wofford answered with an 8-0 run to take an 8-6 lead at the 15:22 mark after a jumper by Spencer Collins. Karl Cochran pushed the run to 10-0 with a lay-up. Elon was able to tie the game at ten and it was tied at 12 with 11:35 left in the first half. The Phoenix hit a three and took a 17-14 lead, but Wofford cut it to one point after two free throws by Spencer Collins.
Elon scored the next three points and after a three had a 23-18 advantage with 5:56 left in the first half. Lee Skinner hit two free throws, Indiana Faithfull hit a jumper and two more Skinner free throws gave Wofford a 24-23 lead with 4:17 on the clock. The Terriers kept the run going to 11-0 and had a 29-23 advantage with 1:48 remaining in the half. Elon scored the final four points of the half, but the Terriers had a 29-27 lead at the break.
Wofford scored first to open the second half, but after less than three minutes the score was tied at 33. Elon took a 36-35 lead on a three pointer, but shots by Lee Skinner and Spencer Collins gave Wofford a 39-36 lead at the 15:41 mark. The Phoenix then used a 9-0 run to take a 45-39 advantage with 11:32 on the clock after a three pointer. Wofford ended the run with two free throws by Jarell Byrd and a jumper by Karl Cochran to cut the score to 45-43 with 10:38 remaining.
After cutting the lead to one point, Elon hit a couple of three pointers for a 51-46 lead before Indiana Faithfull hit the first three of the night for Wofford to make it a 51-49 score with 7:15 on the clock. Karl Cochran hit a lay-up and a free throw to cut the lead to one. Indiana Faithfull hit a jumper to give Wofford a 54-53 lead with 5:30 remaining. The Terriers had a 58-55 advantage after a shot by Lee Skinner a minute later.
Elon tied the game at 58 and took a 62-58 lead with 1:52 left on the clock after two free throws. The Phoenix pushed the run to 9-0 as they took a 64-58 lead before Wofford answered with a three by Karl Cochran with sixty seconds left to cut it to 64-61. Elon added four free throws in the final minute to secure a 68-61 victory.
Wofford shot 37.3% from the floor while Elon shot 46.0% overall. The Terriers were 2-of-11 from with three, while the Phoenix was 7-of-21 from behind the arc. Elon was 15-of-23 from the line while Wofford was 21-of-23 on free throws. Wofford had a 33 to 30 lead on the glass. Aerris Smith fouled out of the game and Mike Young picked up a technical foul.
Wofford will return home on Thursday, January 24 against Furman. The 7:00 p.m. contest will be aired on ESPN3.
