JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Senior Lee Skinner scored a season-high 16 points en route to his third double-double in six games, leading the Wofford men's basketball team over East Tennessee State, 74-64, Thursday night at Freedom Hall.
 
Wofford led by as many as 22 with 5:04 to play when ETSU gave it one last push. The Bucs went on a 22-6 run to close the deficit to just six at the 1:24 mark, but the Terriers prevailed. Junior Spencer Collins hit two free throws to push it back to eight and threw down a thunderous slam to on the next possession, putting the game back out of reach.
 
The win is Wofford's sixth in a row, improving the Terriers to 19-5 and 10-1 in Southern Conference play. Wofford remains a game ahead of Chattanooga (9-2 SoCon) after the Mocs earned an overtime victory at Furman.
 
"Just another tremendous effort on defense," said head coach Mike Young, whose team has held its last six opponents to an average of 51.3 points and 35-percent shooting. "I'm always really proud of any win on the road, especially in our conference. East Tennessee State never quit, just like at our place."
 
Twelve days ago in Spartanburg, Wofford held a 21-point lead in the second half and a very similar situation. The Buccaneers rallied to get within as little as four, before the Terriers eventually put it away.
 
Thursday night's game was physical to say the least. There were 51 combined foul calls. Thirty-one of those were called in the second half and Wofford finished 29-of-43 (67 pct.) at the line, posting season-highs in both free throws made and attempted. ETSU got to the line quite a bit as well, going 18-of-25 (72 pct.)
 
At the end of the day, Wofford's defense is what won the game. The Terriers held ETSU to under 40 percent most of the night before the final flurry. The Bucs finished the game below their season average, shooting 40.4 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from long range. Meanwhile Wofford hit 46.5 percent of its shots, improving to 16-0 this season when outshooting their opponent.
 
Collins notched his eighth straight game in double figures with 12 points (3-6 FG, 6-6 FT) and junior C.J. Neumann was one below his season-high with 11. Nine of Neumann's points came at the line.
 
For the Bucs, senior Rashawn Rembert led all scorers with 17. Desonta Bradford had 14 and sophomore Jalen Riley rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10, which was 10 points below his SoCon-leading average of 20 points heading into the night.
 
Buccaneer junior Lestor Wilson was also limited. He played just nine minutes with foul trouble and scored only five points with two rebounds. Heading into the contest, Wilson was averaging 13 points and four boards.
 
Wilson scored ETSU's first three points before picking up his second foul just 1:36 into the game. He sat until the 9:15 mark, but then picked up is third foul with 7;57 left and was forced to sit out the remainder of the half.
 
Wofford took advantage. After trailing for the first 12 minutes, the Terriers took their first lead, 13-12, on a layup by Skinner that closed an 11-4 run.
 
ETSU never led again. A 3-pointer by Cochran and two free throws by Garcia closed the run at 19-6 with Wofford up 21-14. The Bucs chopped it down to as little as a pair, but eight straight Terrier points followed. Collins scored the first four before a long-range jumper by Garcia and two free throws by Neumann capped an 8-0 run with the Terriers ahead by 10 for the first time, 31-21.
 
It was a six-point lead at the break. Wofford held ETSU to 37-percent shooting and just 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Wofford was 43 percent from both distances and cashing in at the free throw line at 10-of-14 (71 pct.).
 
Just as it played out less than two weeks ago at the BenJo, Wofford built a big second-half lead. After ETSU got with a half dozen, the Terriers reeled off 16 of the next 18 points, pushing their advantage to 20 for the first time at 54-34 with 10:31 to play. Garcia capped the run, draining a triple that counted for Wofford's 10th straight point.
 
The lead floated around the 20-point mark all the way until the 3:57 mark. Sophomore Jaylen Allen, who made a return to his hometown of Johnson City, swished a three to put the Terriers up 19, but ETSU responded in lightning speed. Bradford stole an inbounds pass for an easy layup and then swiped Cochran's pocket on the next possession for an easy dunk. One possession later, he hit from mid-range to cap an 8-0 ETSU run that lasted less than a minute and suddenly brought the game within 11.
 
Wofford finally slowed the bleeding, but ETSU kept forcing the issue. A 3-pointer by Rembert cut Wofford's lead to single digits for the first time in over 14 minutes of game time with 2:01 left. Neumann then went 1-of-2 at the line before Bradford was good for the old-fashioned 3-point play, getting the Bucs within two possessions with still what seemed like an eternity of 84 seconds yet to tick away.
 
Just as they did in Spartanburg, the Terriers prevailed. Collins was clutch down the stretch and Wofford ended the night with a 36-27 rebounding edge to win by 10.
 
Wofford will get its first crack at its 20th win on Saturday, making the quick turnaround at VMI. Tip is set for 1 p.m. from Cameron Hall.
 
Wofford Notes:
- With its sixth straight win, Wofford holds its longest winning streak of the season.
- Skinner scored a career-high 16 points with his third double-double of the season. His career-high is 28.
- Wofford improved to 19-5 for the first time in the Division I era, and for the first time since starting 19-5 in 1993-94 as a member of NCAA Division II.
- Wofford improved to 10-1 in SoCon play for the first time.
- The Terriers earned their third straight win over ETSU in the series, which is a series-best winning streak for Wofford. The Terriers now trail the all-time series 32-7.
- Wofford won its sixth straight game and ninth of its last 10.
- Attendance was announced as 3,517 at Freedom Hall.
- Spencer Collins reached double figures for the eighth straight game.
- Wofford earned a season sweep of the Bucs.