SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Senior Lee Skinner posted his second double-double in three games, scoring 13 points and gathering a game-high 10 rebounds as Wofford weathered an East Tennessee State rally, 72-64, Saturday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
 
Wofford led by as many as 21 in the second half until a 20-5 Buccaneer run got the visitors within six, 54-48, with 4:34 remaining. The Terriers stopped the bleeding for the time being and went back on top by 10 with buckets by junior Spencer Collins and senior Lee Skinner.
 
ETSU responded with six straight and closed the deficit to four on a Jalen Riley triple. It remained a four-point game with less than 50 seconds to play.
 
Senior Karl Cochran put the game away. After Cochran hit two at the line to put the Terriers back up a half dozen, junior Justin Gordon grabbed a rebound and found the senior guard alone in the front court. Cochran finished it off as he threw down a jam that brought nearly all of the 1,907 in attendance to their feet.
 
Wofford (16-5, 7-1 SoCon) remains tied for first place in the Southern Conference standings with Chattanooga. Meanwhile, ETSU (12-7, 6-4 SoCon) remains in fourth.
 
"We beat a good team out there tonight," said Wofford head coach Mike Young, who moved into a tie for ninth with Murray Greason (Wake Forest, 1935-53) for all-time wins in the Southern Conference. "We didn't handle some things well in the second half, but when you have guys that are mature and have been through a lot, it helps you get out of it. We let some things get away from us, but when it mattered most, we hung in there."
 
The Terriers started the second half on a 15-2 run to take a 20-point lead. After not scoring in the first 20 minutes, Cochran was good on his first shot of the second to get the run going. Riley briefly interrupted it, but 12 straight Terrier points followed, which included threes by Cochran, Collins and sophomore Jaylen Allen.
 
The win moves Wofford to 10-0 on the year at home, marking the first such occasion since going undefeated in the BenJo at 12-0 in 1991-92.
 
The Terriers outrebounded ETSU 39-25, gathering 13 offensive rebounds and ending the game with a 15-4 edge in second chance points. Wofford also held the Buccaneers to 64 points – they entered the game averaging over 80 in SoCon play.
 
Four Terriers scored in double figures. Cochran led the way with 14, followed by Skinner with 13, Collins with 12 and sophomore Jaylen Allen with 10 off the bench.
 
For the Bucs, Riley scored a game-high 25 points – he entered the night leading the SoCon at 20.2 points per game – shooting 6-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-8 from three. Eleven of his points came at the foul line (11-14), while A.J. Merriweather scored a dozen.
 
Wofford controlled the pace through the first half. The Buccaneer offense, which entered the night averaging 78 points per game on the season, was held to just 12 with less than seven minutes to play before the half. Wofford took its first lead at the 6:50 mark as Collins and Skinner scored on consecutive possessions to put Wofford in front 13-12.
 
The lead changed hands two more times before Allen gave Wofford some breathing room, connecting on his first triple of two triples to put the Terriers up four. It grew to seven on a Collins three later on and then eight at the 2:23 mark on a Skinner free throw.
 
ETSU held for the final possession of the half after cutting the lead to five, but turned the ball over out of bounds with 2.9 on the clock. Wofford took full advantage, as Skinner found junior C.J. Neumann in stride with a long heave, who layed it in at the buzzer.
 
It was a 30-23 Wofford lead at the half. Skinner had nine points and five rebounds to lead in both departments. Gordon had five on the glass as well. Each team's leading scorer were shut down, with Riley having just two and Cochran held off the board.
 
Cochran took care of that problem quickly with a 3-pointer 16 seconds into the second half. It sparked the run that seemingly put the game out of reach. In the end, the experienced Terriers held strong to remain atop the SoCon.
 
Wofford is back in action next Thursday in Greensboro, where they will take on UNCG at 7 p.m.
 
Postgame Notes:
- Senior Lee Skinner posted his second double-double of the season and 19th of his career.
- Jaylen Allen reached double figures for the first time since Dec. 17 against Charleston Southern.
- Technical fouls were issued to both benches for an incident that happened in the final few minutes of the game.
- Wofford improved to 10-0 at home for the first time since going 12-0 in 1991-92.
- Wofford continues to build to its best Division I record through as many games, improving to 16-5 overall. The last time the Terriers started better was 1993-94 at 17-4.
- The Terriers improve to 7-1 in the Southern Conference for first time since 2010-11. Wofford has never gotten off to an 8-1 start.
- The official attendance was 1,907 at Benjamin Johnson Arena.