CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel erased Wofford's 14-point second half lead and the Terriers suffered their first Southern Conference loss of the season, 69-66, Thursday night at McAlister Fieldhouse.
 
Wofford was outscored 18-6 through the final 6:30 and The Citadel took its first lead of the second half with 1:22 left on a jumper by senior Ashton Moore. Moore finished with a season-high 29 points, 21 of which came in the second half.
 
After missing on the ensuing possession, Wofford played good defense to force a missed shot by Moore. However, Quinton Marshall was there for the offensive rebound and the Terriers were forced to foul down 67-66 with 25 seconds left.
 
It was the right guy to foul. Marshall, a 47-percent free throw shooter, missed the first and junior C.J. Neumann grabbed the rebound. It gave the Terriers the ball and a chance to take the lead.
 
Moore pulled through again for The Citadel (8-9, 3-3 SoCon), stealing the ball from Cochran across the top of the key and getting fouled with 2.3 to play. He hit both at the line and a desperation heave from Spencer Collins bounced off the rim.
 
"I hope this got our attention," said Wofford head coach Mike Young. "The Citadel has a good basketball team and we knew that coming in. They just beat Samford in this building by 10 and came ready to play again tonight.
 
"Hats off to them and we'll move on."
 
The loss was Wofford's (13-5, 4-1 SoCon) second in its last three visits to McAlister Fieldhouse, also falling by a score of 69-63 in January of 2013.
 
Moore was outstanding for the Bulldogs. He shot 10-of-17 from the floor, including 7-of-11 in the second half, and finished the night 6-of-10 from deep. His 29 points marked the most by a Terrier opponent this season and it helped the Citadel shoot 56.1 percent (23-41), making 9-of-14 from three.
 
Cochran led the Terriers with 23 points and was very impressive in the first half. At one point, he hit four consecutive triples, scoring all 18 of his first-half points in the final eight minutes. Collins joined him double figures with 12 points and surpassed 1,000 for his career, becoming the 45th Terrier to achieve the milestone.
 
Filling in for an injured sophomore Eric Garcia, senior John Swinton earned his second straight start. This time, it was in front of his hometown crowd, and the Mt. Pleasant, S.C. native impressed with a season-high seven assists and no turnovers. He also scored seven points and grabbed three boards in 23 minutes.
 
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to will the Terriers to victory. The Bulldogs outrebounded Wofford 26-22 for the game and 14-7 in the second half. Marshall and Brian White had a game-high six apiece for the home team, while the Terriers were led by just as many from junior C.J. Neumann.
 
The Terriers went into the locker room feeling good and leading 37-28. Cochran hit his sixth and final triple of the half at the buzzer, marking the second time on the season he's hit a half dozen in the opening 20 minutes – He did so on Nov. 22 in Connecticut against South Dakota, finishing with a game-high 31 points.
 
Wofford took its largest lead of the game by opening the second half with six of the first seven points. Jumpers by juniors Collins and Justin Gordon, coupled with two free throws by Swinton, put the visitors in front by 14 for the first time.
 
Neumann extended the lead to 14 for the second time at the 17:16 mark, hitting a baby hook in the paint for a 45-31 lead. A 10-4 Bulldog run ensued that cut the lead to four. Moore capped it with a triple at the 12:23 mark that got The Citadel back in the game.
 
Cochran gave Wofford some breathing room, hitting his seventh three of the game that pushed the Terriers back in front by nine, 60-51, However, The Citadel responded with the next six points to quickly get within one possession.
 
The game stayed within five the rest of the way. Collins hit a jumper with 2:57 left to surpass 1,000 career points and put Wofford ahead 66-63, but it was the last Terrier points of the game. The Citadel scored the final four and 10 of the last 12 through the last three and a half minutes to move to 3-3 in SoCon play.
 
The Terriers will look to bounce back at home on Saturday, when they welcome Western Carolina (8-10, 3-3 SoCon) to the Benjamin Johnson Arena. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
 
Postgame Notes:
- Wofford dropped its first SoCon game of the season after starting 4-0 for the first time since joining the league in 1997-98.
- There are no more undefeated teams in SoCon play.
- Wofford's 13-5 record through 18 games is still its best of the program's Division I era (1995-96) and best since going 15-3 in 1993-94.
- The Citadel earned its 48th all-time series victory and second in the last three meeting at McAlister Fieldhouse. Wofford still leads the series 51-48. The 100th meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 21, on Senior Night at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
- Wofford's streak of 41 consecutive road wins when leading by 10 or more in the second half came to an end. The last loss was November 13, 2009 at Pittsburgh.
- Wofford also saw a streak of 30 consecutive wins when leading at the 5:00 mark of the second half get snapped.
- Senior John Swinton had a season-high seven assists, which was one off his career-high.
- Junior Zach Korkowski played three minutes in the first half, earning his first game action since Dec. 22 at West Virginia.