Box Score Game Box (pdf)
RICHMOND, Va. – The Wofford men's basketball team fell 72-57 to Virginia Commonwealth University on Tuesday night at the Siegel Center. The Rams had a ten point lead at the half, but the Terriers were down only eight with 3:27 left before a 9-1 run by VCU sealed the game.
Wofford is 3-7 on the season and VCU is 9-3 overall. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 17 points and eight rebounds. Treveon Graham led the Rams with 18 points. The Terriers outrebounded and outshot VCU in the game, but the Rams had a 34 to 14 advantage in free throw attempts.
"The final score was not indicative of how close of a game it was," said head coach Mike Young. "To hold them to 72 points, 37% from the field and outrebound them 38 to 35 is an accomplishment. They have great players and were a preseason top 25 team. We had a look at it and had a shot to make it real interesting but left a couple of things on the table. We are getting better. The Rams would win our league in a landslide. It was not the outcome we wanted, but our kids played their guts out."
The Rams scored the first six points of the game before Karl Cochran had a lay-up for a 6-2 score. Lee Skinner hit a jumper to make it an 11-4 game with 14:26 on the clock. Buckets by Aerris Smith and Justin Gordon cut the lead to 11-8, but the Rams responded and had a 14-8 advantage. Karl Cochran hit a three from the far corner to make it a 14-11 score with 11:09 left in the first half.
A quick 7-0 run by the Rams was ended by a C.J. Neumann lay-up with 7:49 on the clock in the first half for a 21-13 score. Another three by Karl Cochran made it a 21-16 game thirty seconds later. Wofford cut the lead to 26-20 with a shot by Justin Gordon, but the Rams scored the next nine points for a 35-20 score at the 2:18 mark. Gordon ended the run with a bucket and free throw to make it a 35-23 game with 1:50 remaining in the half. After VCU pushed the score to 38-23, Wofford scored the final five points of the half with two free throws by John Swinton and a three pointer by Karl Cochran. At the break the Rams led 38-28.
To open the second half, Karl Cochran had two free throws and a three pointer to make it a 38-33 game after less than two minutes. A lay-up by Indiana Faithfull kept it a five point game at 40-35, but the Rams scored the next four points for a 44-35 lead at the 14:23 mark. Jaylen Allen hit a three for a 44-38 game before VCU added five more points for a 49-38 advantage with 13:05 on the clock. Spencer Collins ended the run with a lay-up for a 49-40 score with 12:30 remaining in the half.
The Rams scored the next five points to push the lead to 54-40. Wofford had two free throws by John Swinton to make it a 54-42 game with 9:11 remaining in the second half. The Terriers cut the lead to ten at 58-48 after lay-ups by Lee Skinner and Indiana Faithfull with 6:27 on the clock. A three pointer by Jaylen Allen kept it a ten-point game at 63-53 with 4:25 left in the half. Another three by Allen cut the lead to 63-56 a minute later, but the Rams went on a 9-1 run for a 72-57 advantage with 56 seconds left that marked the final score.
Wofford shot 38.5% from the floor while VCU shot 37.5% overall. The Terriers were 7-of-17 from with three, while the Rams were 5-of-20 from behind the arc. VCU was 25-of-34 from the line while Wofford was 10-of-14 on free throws. Wofford had a 38 to 35 lead on the glass. The Rams blocked five shots and forced twenty turnovers. Eric Garcia missed his second straight game due to a concussion suffered in practice. Indiana Faithfull fouled out with 6:19 left in the second half.
Wofford will complete the three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon at Winthrop. The Terriers return home on December 30 against High Point at 7:00 p.m.
