Box Score Game Box (pdf)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In the opening game of the Southern Conference slate, the Wofford men's basketball team used a late run for a 71-61 win over Samford on Thursday night at the Pete Hanna Center. The Terriers were down four with 4:52 remaining, but closed out the contest with an 18-4 run to secure the league victory.
Wofford is 6-7 on the season and Samford is 6-10 overall. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with a season-high 27 points and six rebounds. Eric Garcia added a career-high 14 points and Justin Gordon led the team with seven rebounds. The Bulldogs were led by Tyler Hood with 22 points, while Tim Williams added 17 points.
"Karl Cochran was special out there tonight," said head coach Mike Young. "Our numbers were not good and I do not think we were very aware, but we were playing hard. We were a step off defensively and I called a timeout early in the second half to get them to focus on the defensive end. They made enough plays defensively to win and to get out of here 1-0 and a road win in this league is a big deal and we are excited. Now we are looking forward to Davidson and getting ready to play again."
The Bulldogs scored first but Karl Cochran hit a three to give Wofford a lead a minute into play. Spencer Collins added a three and C.J. Neumann tipped in a shot for a 10-4 advantage at the 15:15 mark. Samford answered the 7-0 run with a 7-0 run of their own for an 11-10 lead after eight minutes. Back-to-back three pointers by Eric Garcia gave Wofford a 16-11 advantage with 11:43 on the clock.
Wofford pushed the run to 10-0 with a 20-11 lead at the ten minute mark of the first half. Samford ended the run with a three pointer, but Lee Skinner answered with an old fashioned three point play for a 23-14 lead with 8:01 on the clock. The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to cut the score to 23-21 less than three minute later. Eric Garcia had a three pointer to end the run. A three by Karl Cochran gave Wofford a 29-23 advantage with 4:35 left in the first half. Cochran hit another three for a 32-25 lead with three minutes on the clock. Samford scored the final seven points of the half to tie the game at 32 at the break.
Karl Cochran opened the second half with a three pointer, but the Bulldogs scored the next seven points for a 39-35 lead. Wofford regained the lead at 40-39 with a dunk by Justin Gordon at the 17:12 mark. Samford took a 44-40 lead before a lay-up by C.J. Neumann. A three by the Bulldogs made it 47-42 before a pair of free throws by Spencer Collins. Justin Gordon had a tip-in bucket to cut the lead to 49-46 with 12:15 on the clock.
Samford pushed the lead to 53-46 before a lay-up and free throw by Karl Cochran cut it to 53-49 with 10:13 left in the second half. A running jumper by Karl Cochran made it a two-point game, but the Bulldogs answered with a bucket. A long jumper by Karl Cochran cut the score to 55-53 with 5:05 remaining in the half. Karl Cochran hit a three pointer for a 57-56 at the 4:08 mark before a bucket by Justin Gordon gave Wofford a 58-57 lead with three minutes left.
A three pointer by Karl Cochran plus a jumper gave Wofford a 63-59 lead with ninety seconds left. Eric Garcia hit a pair of free throws and Lee Skinner added a free throw on a technical foul called on the Samford coach with 44 seconds left for a 66-59 advantage. Lee Skinner made three more free throws for a 69-59 advantage before Samford hit a jumper with 21 seconds on the clock. Two more free throws by Spencer Collins gave the Terriers the 71-61 final margin.
Wofford shot 46.2% from the floor while Samford shot 54.3% overall. The Terriers were 11-of-21 from with three, while the Bulldogs were 6-of-13 from behind the arc. Samford was 5-of-8 from the line while Wofford was 12-of-17 on free throws. Wofford had a 32 to 22 lead on the glass and had 19 assists. Wofford now leads the all-time series against Samford 6-3. The two teams will play again on February 1 in Spartanburg.
The Terriers will host Davidson on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Benjamin Johnson Arena. It will be the Wildcats final visit to Wofford as a member of the Southern Conference before they depart for the Atlantic 10.
