Box Score Game Box (pdf)
ELON, N.C. – Down seven points with six minutes left, the Wofford men's basketball team used five three pointers from Karl Cochran to take the lead and the 63-59 win over Elon on Thursday night at Alumni Gym.
Wofford is 17-11 on the season and 11-4 in the Southern Conference. Elon is 18-12 and 11-4 in league play. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 20 points and Lee Skinner with 17 points, 13 of which came from the free throw line. Cochran and Skinner each had seven rebounds. The Phoenix was led by Lucas Troutman with 23 points and eight rebounds. Wofford ended Elon's eight-game winning streak.
"I thought as tough and energized as we were on the defensive end we were the polar opposite of that on offense," said head coach Mike Young. "We were lethargic and had heavy legs. Part of that is being on the road, part of that is Elon is a good basketball team and they guard. Thank goodness in the nick of time we got some openings. Eric Garcia and C.J. Neumann both had big shots and needless to say our guy Karl Cochran lost his mind in a good way and was special for our team tonight. It will be great to have another nice crowd at home this weekend in a huge game against UNCG."
The Phoenix scored first and had a 7-2 lead after four minutes of play. Spencer Collins hit a jumper and Karl Cochran tied the game at seven with a three pointer at the 15:06 mark. Elon scored the next seven points for a 14-7 advantage before Lee Skinner hit a pair of free throws at the ten minute mark to make it a five-point game. Elon took an 18-12 lead with a pair from the line with 8:14 on the clock.
Down 19-12, the Terriers had buckets by C.J. Neumann and Karl Cochran to make it a 19-16 game. Another lay-up by C.J. Neumann cut the lead to 19-18 with 3:39 left in the first half. Elon scored the next four points before Lee Skinner made a pair of free throws for a 23-20 score with two minutes remaining. The Phoenix was up six when Lee Skinner made two from the line with 28 seconds on the clock for a 26-22 score. Elon had a last shot go wide of the basket for a four-point lead at the break.
Spencer Collins made two free throws to open the scoring in the second half and make it a 26-24 game. A lay-up by C.J. Neumann cut the lead to 29-26 and it was a 31-28 game after a fade-away jumper by Spencer Collins with 16:01 left in the second half. The Phoenix scored the next five points, including their first three pointer of the night, to take a 36-28 lead with 12:41 on the clock. John Swinton ended the run with a pair of free throws for a 36-30 score at the 11:52 mark.
Wofford cut the lead to 36-32 with a bucket by Lee Skinner, but Elon hit a three pointer to take a 39-32 advantage with 10:46 left in the second half. After the Phoenix took a 42-34 lead, Eric Garcia hit a jumper and Spencer Collins made a free throw for a 42-37 score at the 9:09 mark. A shot by Jaylen Allen made it a three point game, but the Phoenix answered with four straight points for a 46-39 lead with 6:13 remaining.
A three pointer by Karl Cochran at the 5:49 mark made it a 46-42 score. After a bucket by Elon, back-to-back three pointers by Karl Cochran tied the game at 48 with 4:18 left in the second half. Two more three pointers by Karl Cochran gave the Terriers a 54-52 lead with 2:52 on the clock. Elon tied it with two free throws, but Lee Skinner hit a jumper for a 56-54 advantage at the 2:03 mark.
Elon tied it again with a pair from the line, but Eric Garcia drained a three from the corner for a 59-56 lead with 39 seconds on the clock. A pair of free throws by Spencer Collins were answered by a three pointer by Jack Isenbarger for a 61-59 score with 14.4 remaining. Two more from the line by Lee Skinner pushed the lead to 63-59 and Elon failed to score on their final possession to end the game.
Wofford shot 37.8% from the floor and Elon was 37.5% overall. The Terriers were 7-of-19 from with three, while the Phoenix was 3-of-10 from behind the arc. Elon was 20-of-23 from the line while Wofford was 22-of-27 on free throws. Rebounds were tied at 32, while Elon had one more turnover than the Terriers.
The final regular season game for Wofford will be Saturday, March 1 against UNCG at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers lone senior, Aerris Smith, will be honored prior to the game.
Wofford has secured a bye for the Southern Conference Tournament and will begin postseason play on Saturday, March 8, in Asheville. The Terriers are tied for second place with Elon and Chattanooga at 11-4, but have the tiebreaker over Elon. Chattanooga has the tiebreaker over Wofford. Western Carolina is currently in fifth place at 10-5.
