Box Score Game Box (pdf)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – In the quarterfinals of the 2014 Southern Conference Tournament, the Wofford men's basketball team was dominate in the second half on the way to a 68-51 win over The Citadel. The Bulldogs cut the lead to four points with eight minutes left, but the Terriers closed the game on a 21-9 run to advance to the semifinals.
Wofford is 18-12 and The Citadel is 7-26 to end the season. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 22 points, while Eric Garcia had a career-high 19 points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc. Ashton Moore led the Bulldogs with 24 points.
"We played a tough and gritty Citadel team that came together at just the right time and had won three straight," said Wofford head coach Mike Young. "To hold them to 51 is typical of our team and our program. That was a grinding kind of game, but that is up our alley and if that is what the game dictates we are fine with that. We are excited to be able to come back over and do it again tomorrow."
Lee Skinner hit the first two buckets of the game for Wofford, but the Bulldogs hit a three pointer for a 5-4 lead. Eric Garcia answered the three with one of his own and a 7-5 lead at the 16:45 mark. Wofford lead 12-9, but the Bulldogs took a 14-13 advantage with a three pointer. A jumper by Eric Garcia gave the Terriers a lead, but another three by the Bulldogs made it a 17-15 lead with 10:59 on the clock. Jaylen Allen buried a three from the corner and Wofford had an 18-17 advantage with 10:47 left in the first half.
Coming out of a media timeout, Eric Garcia hit a three for a 21-17 score. Garcia added a lay-up off a turnover to make it a 23-17 game with 8:39 on the clock in the first half. A lay-up by Jaylen Allen pushed the Wofford run to 10-0 before the Bulldogs hit a pair of free throws with 6:13 remaining for a 25-19 score. The Citadel used a long three pointer to cut the lead to 26-22 and a jumper made it 26-24 with 1:44 left in the half. Spencer Collins hit a jumper and the Bulldogs missed a last second three pointer for a 28-24 Terrier lead at the break.
To open the second half, The Citadel scored first but Wofford answered with a three by Karl Cochran for a 31-26 lead. The Bulldogs scored the next four points for a 31-30 game after three minutes of play. Spencer Collins hit a jumper and a three to push the Wofford advantage to 36-30 with 16:10 on the clock. A bucket by Lee Skinner and a three from the top of the arc by Jaylen Allen made it a 41-32 game with 14:22 remaining.
The Citadel cut the lead to 42-37 with a three pointer, by Karl Cochran hit a three at the other end to make it a 45-37 game at the 10:37 mark of the second half. The Citadel scored the next four points for a 47-43 score two minutes later. A fall-away three pointer by Karl Cochran gave Wofford a 50-43 lead with 7:37 on the clock. The lead was 52-47 after a pair of free throws by the Bulldogs at 5:41. Eric Garcia buried a three from the top of the arc for a 55-47 score and Wofford had a ten-point lead after a pair of free throws by Karl Cochran.
A lay-up by Eric Garcia pushed the score to 59-47 with 3:37 left in the game. Karl Cochran had a lay-up and the ensuing free throw for a 62-47 game. Wofford had a jumper by Eric Garcia at the end of the shot clock to take a 64-48 lead with 1:59 remaining. Karl Cochran hit a three with 48 seconds on the clock for a 68-50 advantage. The Bulldogs added a late free throw for the 68-51 final score.
Wofford shot 52.1% from the floor and The Citadel was 38.6% overall. The Terriers were 10-of-17 from with three, while the Bulldogs were 5-of-13 from behind the arc. The Citadel was 12-of-16 from the line while Wofford was 8-of-14 on free throws. The Citadel had a 27-26 lead on the boards, but had 11 turnovers to only six for Wofford.
Wofford will play #7 seed Georgia Southern, who defeated #2 seed Chattanooga on Saturday evening. The game on Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. in Asheville will air on ESPN3 and CSS.
