ASHEVILLE, N.C. – In the quarterfinals of the 2026 Southern Conference Tournament, the Wofford men's basketball team fell to the UNC Greensboro Spartans on Saturday afternoon, 75-72, in Harrah's Cherokee Arena – Asheville. The #7 seeded Spartans had a 36-32 lead at the half, but the Terriers used a 16-0 run in the second half for a 51-42 lead. With the game tied at 70 with a minute left, the Spartans held off the #2 seeded Terriers with a pair of late free throws. 

The Terriers (19-13, 11-7) were led by 24 points from Kahmare Holmes and 22 points from Nils Machowski. Cayden Vasko dished out nine assists. Machowski had eight rebounds and two steals. Rex Stirling had the lone block for the Terriers.

"I think we played well enough to win," said head coach Kevin Giltner. "We held them to 10 offensive rebounds. We only turned the ball over twice. We did some really good things… these guys played their butts off. It's a funny game, and sometimes you play well enough to win, but you don't. This is an unbelievable team to coach and come to practice with each day. I'm sad that it's over."

How It Happened
Wofford started on the backfoot, failing to find a bucket until their fifth possession. Meanwhile, UNCG was only able to score four points. While Nils Machowski was the one to break the seal for the Terriers with a three-pointer, Wofford was unable to make any other field goals before the first media timeout. Machowski was the one to end the drought again after Kahmare Holmes found him behind the arc. Machowski scored Wofford's first eight points until Holmes made a mid-range jumper to cut into the Spartans' lead before the under-12-minute media timeout, 15-10.

Wofford came out of the stoppage with a quick 5-0 run to tie up the game. Despite a three from the Spartans, the Terriers grabbed their first lead of the night after tough buckets from Rex Stirling and Holmes. The run continued to 6-0 after three consecutive turnovers from UNCG. The Spartans struck back with a 7-0 run of their own, but Machowski and Cayden Vasko combined to keep the Terriers within reach. The teams went back and forth in scoring for the remainder of the half. The Spartans went into the locker room with the lead, 36-32.

Chace Watley found his first points of the afternoon and Wofford's first points of the second half with a three-pointer from the wing. The freshman lit a fire under the Terriers, scoring eight of Wofford's first ten points of the half. Having been down by seven points, Wofford stormed back in front with a 16-0 run. Kahmare Holmes took over for Watley, scoring 11 straight points for the Terriers. The Terriers went up as many as nine points, but the Spartans did not roll over, fighting back within three. With ten minutes left to play, Wofford led 55-52.

Scoring slowed down over the next two minutes, with both teams combining for four points total. Holmes took things back into his own hands, scoring eight points across the next two minutes. The Spartans kept within striking distance and finally found their lead after an offensive rebound with three minutes left.

The teams battled back and forth until the final minute. Machowski drained a crucial three-pointer to tie the game with one minute remaining. The Spartans responded with a layup for a two-point lead. At the other end, Holmes missed a pair of free throws, forcing Wofford to foul up to conserve time. The Spartans went one for two from the line, but on the rebound, Machowski scored a fast-break layup to cut the UNCG lead to one. The Spartans proceeded to make both free throws with eight seconds remaining to ice the game with a final score of 75-72.