Box Score Game Box (pdf)
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Wofford men's basketball team saw a nine-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday night in a 59-49 loss to Davidson at Belk Arena. Down big early, the Terriers had an 18-0 run and went into the half tied. Davidson outscored Wofford by ten points in the second half for the win.
Wofford is 16-11 on the season and 10-4 in the Southern Conference to sit in fourth place in the standings, but only a half-game back of second place. Davidson is 17-11 overall and 13-1 in league play. Wofford was led by Spencer Collins with 16 points, while Karl Cochran had 15 points. The wildcats were led by De'Mon Brooks with 18 points and eight rebounds.
"I was pleased with how we defended and thought we deserved better," said head coach Mike Young. "The big momentum swing at the end of the first half with the three at the buzzer was something we could ill afford in a game in this building. I am disappointed that we lost and in some facets of our play, but in no way am I disappointed in how hard we played tonight. We are going to brush up on a few things that we did not do well tonight and head up to Elon next week."
The Wildcats opened with a three pointer and had a 6-2 lead at the 15:53 mark. Davidson pushed the score to 11-2 before Lee Skinner made one-of-two free throws with 13:52 on the clock. A minute later the Wildcats had a 15-3 lead. Spencer Collins hit a three pointer, the first field goal of the night for the Terriers, at the 11:32 mark to make it a 15-6 score. After Davidson scored the next four points, Karl Cochran hit a jumper for a 19-8 game with eight minutes left in the half.
Down 21-8, Spencer Collins hit a jumper and a three pointer for a 21-13 score. C.J. Neumann made it a 7-0 run for Wofford and a 21-15 game with 4:26 left in the first half. Two free throws by Karl Cochran, then a dunk by Cochran off a steal, made it a 21-19 game. C.J. Neumann pushed the run to 13-0 and tied the game at 21 with a put-back at the two-minute mark. Lee Skinner added a bucket and free throw, followed by two free throws by Spencer Collins for an 18-0 run and a 26-21 lead for Wofford. The Wildcats scored the final five points of the half, including a three pointer at the buzzer to tie the game a 26.
A jumper by Karl Cochran began the second half. The game was tied at 28 and 30 before Davidson hit a three pointer for a 33-32 lead after three minutes of play. The Wildcats made it a 38-32 game with 12:11 on the clock with an 8-0 run. Eric Garcia hit a three pointer for a 40-36 score, but the Wildcats answered with a three on the other end.
Another three by Davidson gave them a 46-36 lead with 9:22 left in the half. Lee Skinner hit a lay-up for a 48-40 game with seven minutes remaining. A three pointer by Karl Cochran and a long jumper by Cochran cut the score to 48-45 with 5:35 on the clock. Brooks scored the next seven points for Davidson as they had a 55-45 lead with under three minutes left in the game. Spencer Collins hit a three pointer with eleven seconds remaining for a 59-49 score to end the game.
Wofford shot 34.0% from the floor and Davidson was 52.4% overall. The Terriers were 5-of-14 from with three, while the Wildcats were 6-of-14 from behind the arc. Davidson was 9-of-12 from the line while Wofford was 10-of-15 on free throws. The Wildcats had a 33 to 24 lead on the glass. The Wildcats had 14 turnovers, while the Terriers had only six. Davidson was held to 19 points less than their scoring average this season.
Following a road game at Elon on Thursday, the final regular season game for Wofford will be Saturday, March 1 against UNCG at Benjamin Johnson Arena. Wofford has secured a bye for the Southern Conference Tournament and will begin postseason play on Saturday, March 8, in Asheville.
