ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Junior B.J. Mack led three Terriers in double figures with his sixth career double-double effort, as No. 4 seed Wofford would come up short in the semifinals of the 2022 Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship to No. 1 seed Chattanooga, 79-56. Despite hanging with the Mocs through the final 20 minutes, 41-36, Chattanooga built an 18-point halftime lead, while shooting 58.3 percent for the contest, for enough cushion to advance into Monday night's championship game.
 
Wofford finishes 19-13 overall (10-8 SoCon), while Chattanooga moves to 26-7 (14-4 SoCon).
 
"Congrats to Chattanooga, they are a heck of a team. You can see they have a lot of fire power," said head coach Jay McAuley of the Mocs. "I was proud of the way we battled offensively in the second half."

Wofford hit 14-of-26 in the second half (53.8%) to finish the game shooting 45.8 percent and 35.3 percent beyond the arc on 6-of-17 shooting.

"I'm really proud of our basketball team and what it stands for," added McAuley. "Every year I think you can see there's a lot of respect for these guys, these players, how they play, how tough they are, and how committed they are. Everyone knows what Wofford basketball stands for ... I think that stayed the same and I am really proud of that."
 
B.J. Mack added a consecutive double-double effort and ninth 20-point performance with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting (2-of-6 3FG) and 10 rebounds. The Second Team All-SoCon forward caps the season with a 21-game streak finishing in double figures, while finishing as Wofford's leader in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (6.1) for the 2021-22 season.
 
Sophomore guard Morgan Safford recorded 14 points, matching a career-best four 3-pointers (4-of-5), two rebounds and steals apiece, as classmate Max Klesmit rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points.
 
Freshman Austin Patterson added five points, while senior guard Ryan Larson dished a game-high three assists to pass Karl Cochran '15 and move into 10^th all-time at Wofford in assists with 321 for his career.
 
The Mocs shot a blistering 61.5 percent in the first half (16-of-26) en route to finishing the game 28-of-48 from the floor (58.3%), 38.5 percent from beyond the arc (5-for-13) and 78.3 percent from the charity stripe.
 
Chattanooga was lethal in several areas throughout Sunday's contest, capitalizing on 13 Wofford turnovers for 20 points in return, while also finishing with a plus-12 rebound margin (32-20) and 44-32 edge on points inside the paint.
 
The Mocs finished with four in double figures, led by SoCon Player of the Year Malachi Smith with 25 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Darius Banks (17), David Jean-Baptiste (14) and Silvio de Sousa (12).
 
A pair of 3-pointers from Safford paced the Terriers through the opening minutes of play, as a Klesmit steal led to an Isaiah Bigelow transition layup to come within two, 12-10 (13:13). A Larson floater would ensue shortly after, though, the Mocs opened the game hitting eight of their first 12 looks from the floor to answer for a 19-12 advantage by the midway point of the half.
 
Austin Patterson corralled a steal for a layup on the other end, while a tough drive through traffic for Safford closed in 21-17 with eight first-half points to pace Wofford. Chattanooga managed to curtail brief instances of momentum against the Terriers, going on to rally for 12 of the next 13 points to go up by double digits (33-18) en route to finishing the half on a 17-3 run, capped by a Malachi Smith three, 38-20.
 
The Mocs pushed the lead to 20 to open the second half, as B.J. Mack and Max Klesmit combined for Wofford's first 10 points in the frame, capped by a Klesmit and-one layup at 47-30 by the under-16 media timeout (15:42). Both squads traded buckets throughout the frame, seeing a swift 6-0 run from the Mocs balloon the lead to 53-33, though, the Terriers continued to claw at Chattanooga on back-to-back threes from Safford and Mack at 57-39 with 11:29 left.
 
A layup from Klesmit and dunk through the lane by Sam Godwin kept the lead under 20 briefly, 62-43, however, the Terriers would put Chattanooga in the bonus with 8:37 remaining to see the Mocs extend leads as large as 26 points from the free-throw line by the 5:06 mark, 72-46. During the stretch, Mack paced Wofford with 11-straight points to continue competing (77-54), though, Chattanooga ultimately would hold on for the win by the end of regulation, 79-56.
 
The Mocs will face either No. 2 Furman or No. 3 Samford in the championship game on Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
 
2022 Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship
Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville, Asheville, N.C.
Friday, March 4 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (9) The Citadel 84, (8) ETSU 76
Game 2 - (7) Mercer 81, (10) Western Carolina 53
 
Saturday, March 5 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) Chattanooga 71, (9) The Citadel 66
Game 4 - (4) Wofford 68, (5) VMI 66
Game 5 - (2) Furman 80, vs. (7) Mercer 66
Game 6 - (3) Samford 66, vs. (6) UNCG 64
 
Sunday, March 6 (ESPNU)
Game 7 – (1) Chattanooga 79, (4) Wofford 56
Game 8 – (2) Furman vs. (3) Samford, 6:30 p.m.
 
Monday, March 7 (ESPN)
Game 9 – (1) Chattanooga vs. TBD, 7 p.m. Read Full Article