BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Senior Karl Cochran made eight 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 31 points and the Wofford men's basketball team hung on to defeat South Dakota, 72-68, Saturday evening at Webster Bank Arena.

Wofford led by as many as 23 points with 10 minutes remaining and held a 15-point lead with just 2:28 on the clock. A chaotic final few minutes saw the Coyotes outscore the Terriers 14-3 and cut the margin all the way to one possession, 71-68, with 1.3 seconds to play.

Sophomore Eric Garcia caught the ensuing in-bounds pass and was fouled. He hit 1-of-2 from the line to put it away, earning the Terriers (3-1) their third straight win.

"All in all, we played a very good basketball game against a good team," said head coach Mike Young. "For the majority of the game, we had great energy, great attention to detail and defended very well.

"Obviously, we didn't handle some things very well toward the end, but we did plenty enough to win and that's all that matters to me."

Cochran shot 11-of-21 from the field and 8-of-14 from beyond the arc, also marking a new career-high in made 3-pointers. He had 20 points on six triples at the half, the final one going down at the first-half buzzer to give Wofford a 40-27 lead heading into the locker rooms.

On top of it all, the Marietta, Georgia native had seven rebounds and team-highs of three steals and five assists. The Terriers dished out 20 assists combined, something they did just three times last season.

"Karl Cochran was spectacular," Young noted. "Our guys did a great job screening for him and it helps when the ball gets delivered efficiently. But an outstanding performance by him."

The Terriers scored the final nine points of the first half all on Cochran threes. It ultimately sparked a 17-0 run that lasted 8:29 between halves and put Wofford ahead 48-27. The Terriers completed the night 11-of-20 from beyond the arc and were dominant in transition with a 16-0 smothering in fast break points.

Junior Justin Gordon reached double figures for the third straight game. He scored 12 points and collected a game-high eight rebounds in his first start of the season. Senior Lee Skinner matched Gordon's eight boards and the duo also combined for eight on the offensive glass. The Terriers ended the night with a 37-28 advantage, along with 15 offensive rebounds.

For the Coyotes (0-4) junior Adam Thoseby had a career-high 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Freshman D.J. Davis led the team with five rebounds and junior Sekou Harris led all players with six assists.

South Dakota's bench did the majority of the work to get their team back in the game. They scored 47 points with 31 coming in the second half.

Both teams came out firing. South Dakota had plenty of time to get shots up in Friday night's triple-overtime loss to Sam Houston State. The Coyotes shot over 50 percent the majority of the first half against Wofford.

The Terriers used their advantage inside to keep pace, going for seven offensive rebounds that made for nine second chance points in the first 13 minutes of the game.

Sophomore Jaylen Allen nailed one of Wofford's eight first-half threes for a 19-17 lead at the 8:04 mark. Great passing helped the Terriers build on that lead before Cochran went off for nine straight Terrier points to close the half.

The first possession of the second half resulted in Gordon driving to the rim for the bucket and the foul. He followed with a dunk on the second trip down the floor and a Garcia 3-pointer put Wofford in front 48-27, closing the 17-0 run.

Cochran hit the triple that put Wofford ahead by its largest margin of 23. A layup with 7:30 to play tied his career-high of 30 points. A free throw with 2:28 remaining synched the new career-high and put the Terriers up 15.

Cochran, Garcia and Skinner all subbed out of the game with Wofford up 10 points and just 37 ticks left. They were called upon to return as six straight Coyote points brought it down to just four with 19 seconds to play.

Skinner went 1-of-2 at the line to make it a five-point game and Thoseby closed it to just one possession, forcing a pressure in-bounds play with 1.3 on the clock. Garcia corralled it and sealed the win.

The Wofford men's basketball team completes play at the 2014 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Sunday with a noon tip against Sam Houston State.

Postgame Notes:
- Karl Cochran posted career-highs of 31 points and eight made 3-pointers.
- Cochran's other 30-point game was Feb. 16, 2013, when he scored 30 as a sophomore in a 78-58 home win over Chattanooga.
- Cochran's eight treys are three shy of the Terrier record, held by Seth Chadwick who buried 11 against Mercer on Feb. 15, 1997.
- Justin Gordon earned his first start of the season.
- The game was part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic with Fairfield serving as the sub-regional host.
- It was the first series meeting between Wofford and South Dakota