Box Score Game Box (pdf)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford men’s basketball team returned home from a three game road trip and defeated Furman 63-50 on Thursday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers used a 20-5 run in the middle of the second half to break open a two-point game.
Wofford moves to 8-12 on the season and 2-5 in the Southern Conference. Furman is 5-13 overall and 2-5 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by freshman Spencer Collins with 21 points. Karl Cochran added 15 points, while Lee Skinner scored ten points and was the leading rebounder with nine. Furman was led by Stephen Croone with 15 points.
“That was a patented Wofford team wins where we got solid play from a lot of guys,” said head coach Mike Young. “Jarell Byrd and James Long came in and helped our team, and Justin Gordon had a terrific hustle play to save a possession. Aerris Smith might have played his best game in a Wofford uniform. It was a good win for our team. Furman has been playing very well lately. We now prepare to play Charleston here in less than 48 hours.”
The Paladins scored the first four points of the game, but Wofford answered with lay-ups by Aerris Smith and Spencer Collins to tie the game at four with 14:58 on the clock. Karl Cochran had a dunk off a missed shot to give the Terriers an 8-7 lead. Back-to-back shots by Lee Skinner, including one at the end of the shot clock, gave Wofford a 13-9 advantage with 11:14 remaining in the first half.
Wofford pushed the lead to 15-9 after two free throws by C.J. Neumann, but the Paladins ended the 7-0 run for the Terriers with a pair of free throws. After Furman made it a 17-13 game, Spencer Collins hit a three and had a fast break dunk off a turnover for a 22-13 lead with 7:12 on the clock. Furman answered with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 22-20 before a lay-up by Spencer Collins for a 24-20 score. The Paladins tied the game at 24 with 3:03 remaining in the half. Jarell Byrd hit a three at the 1:35 mark to give Wofford a 27-24 advantage. Spencer Collins scored with a minute remaining and the Terriers had a 29-24 lead at the break.
The Terriers opened the second half with two free throws by Karl Cochran and with 15:37 on the clock Wofford held a 35-30 lead. After the Paladins cut the score to 35-33 after a three pointer, the Terriers scored the next four points for a 39-33 advantage at the 12:24 mark. A long jump shot by Spencer Collins at the shot clock buzzer, plus a couple free throws gave Wofford a 43-35 lead with 9:52 remaining.
Lee Skinner added two free throws and a huge dunk by Jarell Byrd pushed the Wofford lead to 47-36 with nine minutes on the clock. Lee Skinner added a jumper and two free throws by Karl Cochran made it a 51-38 score with 5:46 remaining in the game. Karl Cochran hit a jumper to push the lead to 57-39, then a bucket and free throw by Indiana Faithfull made it a 60-42 game with 2:32 left on the clock. Furman hit a three pointer with less than a minute remaining, but the Terriers came away with the 63-50 win to split the season series.
Wofford shot 41.8% from the floor while Furman shot 42.5% overall. The Terriers were 2-of-10 from with three, while the Paladins were 4-of-13 from behind the arc. Furman was 12-of-16 from the line while Wofford was 15-of-20 on free throws. Wofford had a 32 to 25 lead on the glass and had only ten turnovers in the contest. John Swinton and Kevin Hickson missed the game due to injury.
Wofford will remain at home and host the College of Charleston on Saturday, January 26. The 7:00 p.m. contest will be aired on ESPN3 and myTV Charleston.
