SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Justin Gordon's first 3-point attempt of the season went in as the shot clock expired with 1:09 left, lifting the Wofford men's basketball team to a crucial Southern Conference win over Mercer, 49-46, Saturday night at a packed Benjamin Johnson Arena.
 
After Mercer took a 46-42 lead with 6:49 to play, Wofford's defense shut the Bears down the rest of the way. The Terriers scored the final seven points. Junior Spencer Collins scored the first four to tie the game, before Gordon's triple brought a crowd of over 3,000 to its feet.
 
Mercer (12-11, 7-3 SoCon) had three shots to tie the game. A pair of 3-point attempts by Ike Nwamu and Jibri Bryan missed the mark, but the Bears grabbed the offensive rebound both times.
 
Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman called timeout with under 10 seconds left to set up the final play. Bryan got the ball on the left wing and took a last-second 3-point attempt, but it fell short and Wofford (18-5, 9-1 SoCon) remained alone in first in the Southern Conference.
 
"What a great college basketball game and what a great environment," said Wofford head coach Mike Young. "It was such a hard-fought and well-played game from both sides."
 
The 3-pointer by Gordon was just the second make of his career. The other came his freshman season in the BenJo against College of Charleston.
 
"I knew it had a really good chance of going in when it left my hand," said Gordon, who finished with nine points, three rebounds and a block. "I looked up at the shot clock and knew I had to take the shot. I'm just happy it went in."
 
Mercer's Stephon Jelks capped an 8-0 run that put the Bears ahead 46-42 with 6:49 to play. Coach Young called time and the Terriers held Mercer to 0-for-8 from the floor the rest of the game, also forcing two turnovers.
 
"We called time to cool the jets and hit the reset button, and I thought we did a great job from that point forward," Young said. "I just told our guys make the next play. We may have tweaked a coverage in our defense."
 
Wofford sits a full game ahead of second-place Chattanooga (8-2 SoCon) in the league standings. The Mocs defeated The Citadel, 78-73, Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, Mercer falls two games behind the Terriers after defeating Chattanooga Thursday night.
 
Collins finished with a game-high 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Skinner added 10 and also grabbed six boards. Senior Karl Cochran had a rough shooting night, finishing 0-for-10 from three, but did a tremendous job everywhere else, going for six rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. Junior C.J. Neumann tied a pair of Bears with a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Nwamu was the only Bear to finish in double figures with 10. Bryan and T.J. Hallice collected eight rebounds.
 
The team stats were as even as they could get. Both teams shot 36 percent from the field and both teams went for 36 rebounds. Wofford had just one more assist. The biggest difference, and perhaps the difference in the game, was turnovers, with the Terriers committing just four to Mercer's nine.
 
Mercer held a six-point lead at the half after leading by as many as eight. The Terriers got some momentum going into the locker rooms when Cochran stole a cross-court pass and slammed home a breakaway dunk.
 
"I associated our situation to the Iona and NC State games," said Young, whose team improved to 5-4 on the season when trailing at the half. "I let our guys know we were going to be fine. I told them to just continue to guard and continue to rebound. Mature teams don't flinch. It's the next-play mentality."
 
Wofford opened up the second half with the first eight points. A 3-pointer by sophomore Eric Garcia sandwiched between layups by Skinner and Gordon gave Wofford its first lead since the 10:11 mark of the first half.
 
The Terriers extended the lead to as many as six with a fast break conversion by Skinner. The advantage was four, 42-38, with 9:13 left, until Mercer scored eight straight to retake the lead.
 
Wofford's defense was the difference down the stretch. Heading into the night, the Terriers had held their last four opponents to an average of 49.5 points and 33.3 percent shooting. They held Mercer below the 50-point mark and walked away with their fifth straight victory.
 
Wofford hits the road for both of next week's conference games, beginning Thursday at East Tennessee State. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Freedom Hall.
 
Wofford Notes:
- Wofford improved to 18-5 for the first time in the Division I era, matching its best 23-game start with the 1993-94 team that was an NCAA Division II affiliate.
- Wofford improved to 9-1 in the Southern Conference for the first time in program history. The Terriers are in their 18th year in the SoCon (1997-98).
- Four of Wofford's last five opponents have been held to less than 50 points.
- Spencer Collins scored in double figures for the seventh straight game.
- Lee Skinner reached double figures for the seventh time in the last nine games.
- Official attendance was 3,036 at Benjamin Johnson Arena, marking the largest crowd of the season.