Box Score Game Box (pdf)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Wofford men’s basketball team was defeated 55-50 by the College of Charleston on Thursday night at TD Arena. The game was tied at 24 early in the second half before the Cougars used a 10-0 run to pull away as the Terriers could get no closer than four points in the final ten minutes.
Wofford moves to 12-18 on the season and 6-11 in the Southern Conference to sit in fourth place in the South Division. College of Charleston is 21-9 overall and 13-4 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 23 points, while Lee Skinner had seven points and seven rebounds. The Cougars were led by Andrew Lawrence and Willis Hall with ten points each.
“It was a two point game at the half and then they made a run,” said head coach Mike Young. “It was tough sledding from that point forward. We had our shots but could not make the plays when we needed to. They touched us up with 57% from the field in the second half and they had a big lead on rebounds. Those two figures jump out at me. We can win with 13 assists and five turnovers, but an offensive power we are not.
The Cougars opened the game with a three pointer and had a 9-4 lead after five minutes of play. Lee Skinner made a lay-up to make it a 9-6 game with 14:40 on the clock. Charleston used a 6-1 run for a 15-7 advantage with 9:46 left in the first half. Wofford then went on a 8-0 run that included three pointers by John Swinton and Karl Cochran to tie the game at 15 with 6:50 remaining. The score was tied at 17 before the Cougars took a 20-17 lead with 4:48 left in the half.
A long two by Karl Cochran cut the lead to one point and another bucket by Cochran gave Wofford a 21-20 advantage with 3:20 on the clock in the first half. Aerris Smith tied the game at 22 with a free throw, but the Cougars regained the lead with a lay-up with 40 seconds remaining. Wofford had two chances to tie the game in the final five seconds, but Charleston had a 24-22 edge at the half.
To begin the second half, Spencer Collins tied the game at 24 with a pair of free throws. Back-to-back threes as part of a 10-0 run by Charleston made it a 34-24 score with 16:43 on the clock. Karl Cochran ended the run, but the Cougars led 38-30 with 13:44 left in the second half. Spencer Collins scored the next four points for Wofford to cut the lead to 38-34, but the Cougars answered with a three pointer. Karl Cochran added a three pointer at the other end of the floor to make it a 41-37 game after eight minutes of play.
Charleston scored the next four points for a 45-37 lead, but a three by Karl Cochran cut the score to 45-40 at the ten minute mark of the second half. The Cougars answered with seven straight points for a 52-40 advantage. Indiana Faithfull ended the run with a lay-up and Spencer Collins added a free throw to make it 52-43 with 5:33 left. After trading buckets, Charleston hit one free throw with 50.9 on the clock for a 55-45 lead. Lee Skinner hit a three pointer to cut the lead to 55-48 at the 38 second mark and John Swinton added a bucket with six seconds left for a 55-50 final score.
Wofford shot 32.2% from the floor while the College of Charleston shot 46.7% overall. The Terriers were 5-of-20 from with three, while the Cougars were 5-of-19 from behind the arc. College of Charleston was 8-of-14 from the line while Wofford was 7-of-10 on free throws. The Cougars had a 44 to 27 lead on the glass. Wofford had only five turnovers, while Charleston had 16. The game marked the final regular season meeting between the teams as Southern Conference members.
The regular season finale against The Citadel on Saturday, March 2, will be at Benjamin Johnson Arena at 7:00 p.m. The Southern Conference Tournament will begin on March 8 in Asheville, N.C.
