Box Score Game Box (pdf)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Wofford men’s basketball team was defeated 69-63 by The Citadel on Thursday night at McAlister Fieldhouse. The Terriers were within three points with ninety seconds remaining in the game, but could not get any closer in the loss.
Wofford falls to 8-14 on the season and 2-6 in the Southern Conference. The Citadel is 5-15 overall and 2-8 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 15 points, Spencer Collins with 14 points, and Lee Skinner with 12 points. Indiana Faithfull led the team with six rebounds and five assists. The Bulldogs were led by Mike Groselle with 24 points, while P.J. Horgan had 16 points and ten rebounds.
“We did not handle some things down the stretch,” said head coach Mike Young. “We tried to make the right play but in a game that we are supposed to win, The Citadel played better than we did. Giving up 69 points to The Citadel is too many and Mike Groselle gives us problems down low. I liked our effort and we were playing responsibly, but there are some things that we are going to have to look at on tape.”
The Citadel scored first with a free throw and quickly took an 8-2 lead less than four minutes into the contest. Justin Gordon cut the score to 10-6 with a lay-up at the 14:30 mark. The Bulldogs were able to take a 15-6 lead after a three pointer by Matt Van Scyoc, but Wofford answered with a three pointer by Karl Cochran. With 11:52 remaining in the first half, the Bulldogs had a 17-9 advantage.
Wofford used a 7-0 run that included a three pointer by Spencer Collins to make it a one point lead for The Citadel at 17-16 with ten minutes on the clock. The Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 25-20 with 4:42 left in the half, but Wofford was able to take a 26-25 lead after a jumper by Spencer Collins at the three minute mark. The Bulldogs scored the next six points and had a 31-26 advantage. At the break, The Citadel had a 33-30 lead.
The Terriers scored the first four points of the second half for a 34-33 lead. The Citadel answered with the next four points and had a 37-33 advantage at the 18:25 mark. Wofford tied the game at 38 on a shot by Lee Skinner and took a 40-38 lead after a lay-up by C.J. Neumann with 15:53 on the clock. The Bulldogs regained the lead at 45-52, but Wofford tied the game at 45 after a jumper and free three throw by Lee Skinner with 13:46 remaining.
The next five points were scored by the Bulldogs, giving them a 50-45 lead with 12:48 on the clock. Four minutes later, the lead was 58-49. The Citadel’s 13-4 run was ended with a three pointer by Karl Cochran to cut the score to 58-52 and a lay-up by Cochran made it 58-54 with 6:20 remaining. The teams traded three pointers for a 61-57 score, then the Bulldogs had a 64-58 advantage with 3:59 on the clock. After taking a 66-58 lead, Wofford answered with a three by Spencer Collins and a jumper by Lee Skinner to make it a 66-63 score with a minute left. The Bulldogs made three free throws over the final 26 seconds to take a 69-63 win.
Wofford shot 39.3% from the floor while The Citadel shot 56.5% overall. The Terriers were 5-of-24 from with three, while the Bulldogs were 3-of-8 from behind the arc. The Citadel was 14-of-18 from the line while Wofford was 10-of-11 on free throws. The Bulldogs had a 34 to 26 lead on the glass. John Swinton and Kevin Hickson missed the game due to injury. The loss ended an eleven game winning streak over the Bulldogs and it was the first loss at The Citadel since February 23, 2002.
Wofford will return home and host Davidson on Saturday, February 2 at 7:00 p.m. The Davidson game will be the first of three straight home games for the Terriers.
