Furman put up the best fight it possibly could, but Wofford gutted out a hard-earned win to claim the SoCon title and punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
The Wofford Terriers won the Southern Conference tournament and earned their fourth bid to the NCAA Tournament, but they got tested by an unlikely foe. The 11-21 Furman Paladins made it all the way to the final round and put up a valiant fight before Wofford eventually prevailed, 67-64.
Once again, the Paladins were heavy underdogs, but they hung with Wofford for nearly the entire game. Furman suffered a big loss when Kris Acox exited the game with an injury, but the first half ended on a 36-36 tie, with neither team getting a lead larger than six points.
Furman continued to play Wofford close --whenever the Terriers started to pull away, the Paladins would hit a timely three-pointer or grab a key rebound to keep things close. Business really picked up when Furman took a 58-56 lead with less than nine minutes to go. Wofford got into a scoring drought at the worst possible time, going over five minutes without making a field goal. They finally snapped that cold streak when Karl Cochran made a three-pointer to give the Terriers a 61-60 lead at the four-minute mark.
The Terriers extended their lead to four points and, for once, Furman was unable to answer. The Paladins were reduced into forcing fouls and Wofford hung on for the SoCon championship.
The Paladins had a hot shooting hand for most of the game, making 52.2 percent of their field goals and draining 9-of-15 three-pointers. Wofford shot 43.1 percent from the floor and won the rebounding war, 31-21. Lee Skinner led Wofford with 17 points and Cochran finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Geoff Beans stepped up big for Furman in Acox's absence, coming off the bench to score 15 points.
Wofford makes for an interesting upset pick in the NCAA Tournament. The Terriers beat N.C. State on the road in the regular season and knocked off fellow mid-major darling Iona. SB Nation's Chris Dobbertean currently projects them to earn a No. 12 seed.
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