Men's Basketball Southern Conference

SoCon Basketball Results, Sunday, Dec. 5

Men's Basketball
Wofford 85, Auburn 78

AUBURN, AL - Adrien Borders scored a season-high 21 points while Howard Wilkerson added 19 points and eight rebounds as Wofford rallied from a 15-point deficit for an 85-78 victory over Auburn this afternoon Iin a regionally-televised contest at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Ala.

Eric Marshall scored 14 points, including a 4-of-4 effort at the free-throw line in the final 2:01, while Sam Daniels and freshman point guard Drew Gibson added 11 points to give the Terriers five players in double figures.

Wofford improves to 4-2 with its first win over an SEC opponent in 21 games since beginning Division I play in the 1995-96 campaign. The Terriers are off to their best start in 10 seasons on the Division I level. Wofford outrebounded Auburn (5-2) by a 38-29 advantage.

Leading 44-40 at the half, the Terriers scored the opening four points of the second half to take a 48-40 advantage.

Wofford's biggest lead of the game came after a Marshall trey put Wofford on top 54-45 with 16:54 remaining.

Auburn closed to within 58-55 before Borders hit a 3-pointer to give Wofford a 61-55 advantage with 11:19 to play.

With the Tigers having closed the deficit to 73-69, Borders hit a 3-pointer in the corner in front of the Wofford bench to give the Terriers a 76-69 advantage with 2:56 left.

"I thought Adrian's 3-pointer in the corner was the shot of the game," Wofford coach Mike Young said. "Adrien was outstanding in all facets of the game today.

"I'm really looking forward to a neat journey with this squad. We have a good team. Our guys come ready to play each day. Happiness is having a veteran team (Wofford has five seniors on this year's roster)." {photo2}After the Tigers closed within 78-76 with 48 seconds to play, Gibson fed Daniels for a layup to build the Terrier lead back to 80-76 with 38 seconds remaining. Gibson, a Los Angeles, Calif., native, had four assists, four rebounds, five steals and just two turnovers in 26 minutes.

Marshall then hit a pair of free-throws with 20 seconds remaining while Wilkerson added another free-throw to give Wofford an 83-76 lead with 12 seconds left.

The Terriers trailed by as many as 15 points, 32-17, before going on a 27-8 run over the final 8:04 of the first half to lead 44-40 at the intermission.

Wofford grabbed its first lead of the game at 37-36 on a Daniels 3-pointer. The Terriers took their 44-40 halftime advantage on a short jumper by Tyler Berg with one second left on the clock.

Wilkerson had 14 first-half points to lead Wofford while Borders scored 11. Wilkerson and Borders both had six points while Gibson added five during the 27-8 spurt.

It was Wofford's second of four games against SEC competition. The Terriers have upcoming contests at Georgia (Dec. 19) and South Carolina (Dec. 31).

The Terriers return home Wednesday to face Toccoa Falls at 7 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader. The Wofford women host Western Carolina at 4:30 p.m.

Chattanooga 69, Tennessee 68
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Chris Brown's three-pointer with 1:18 to play lifted the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team to a 69-68 victory over Tennessee Sunday.

A Chris Lofton three-pointer gave the Vols its final lead, 68-66, with 1:39 remaining. Brown's only three-pointer of the game proved to be the game-winner and were the last points scored in the game.

The Mocs, who improve to 3-2, had a chance to ice the game with free throws in the final 52 seconds but missed all three, including two by Ricky Hood with two seconds on the clock.

UT's Brandon Crump collected the rebound but failed to get off a shot before the buzzer sounded.

"This gives me some credibility as a head coach," UTC Head Coach John Shulman said. "Maybe I do know what I am doing. This is our first Division I win and it takes the monkey off our back."

The Mocs narrowly missed beating Atlantic Coach Conference-member Virginia Tech Thursday, losing by four points after holding a four-point lead with four minutes to play. UTC struggled at the free throw line Sunday, making just 9-for-21 and were outrebounding for the first time this season, 40-36.

Mindaugas Katelynas led the Mocs with 17 points, tying his season high. He also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Steve Cherry was the only other UTC player to register double figures. A.J. Mastin came off the bench and nailed three three-pointers, all in the second half, for a career-best nine points.

C.J. Watson led the Vols with 19 points and was 5-for-12 from three-point range. Scooter McFadgon added 14 points and 10 boards, and Crump netted 10 points.

"I couldn't be happier for our kids," Shulman said. "I didn't know whether to hug A.J. or kill him. He made three huge three-pointers, and it makes it look like I am not playing him enough.

"We are appreciative to Buzz Peterson for giving us this opportunity. It is a no-win situation for them. He certainly doesn't have to do this."

It was UTC's first victory over a Southeastern Conference team since its NCAA Tournament win over Georgia in 1997.

The Mocs are off until Dec. 18 when they travel to Nashville to take on Belmont.

Women's Basketball

Delaware 69, UNC Greensboro 59
TUCSON, AZ -- UNC Greensboro lost 69-59 to Delaware in the consolation game of the University of Arizona women's basketball Mission Management & Trust Fiesta Bowl Classic at McKale Center this afternoon in Tucson.

UNCG (1-4) was led by Jasmine Byrd's career-best 24 points. The sophomore guard from Dumfries, VA, knocked down four 3-pointers on the afternoon on the way to setting her new standard for points in a game. Ashley Current tied her career-best with eight points. Shanika Jackson added six points and a career-high six rebounds.

Tiara Malcom, the preseason Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year, led the Blue Hens (3-2) with 17 points and seven rebounds. Tiffany Young added 17 points and eight boards, while Tyresa Smith chipped in with 10 of her own.

Senior guard Amanda Eaton, who had started all 89 games the last three seasons for UNCG before missing the first game of her collegiate career yesterday, came of the bench and added a pair of 3-pointers. She is now just one 3-pointer away from tying the UNCG career record of 135, which is held by Sam Ferguson, who played from 1995-98.

UNCG led 34-30 at halftime and extended its lead to five, 37-32, on a Byrd 3-pointer at the 19:10 mark of the second stanza. From there, the Spartans went on a 10:46 scoreless drought that saw Delaware rattle of 20 straight points to go up 15, 52-37, with 8:44 to go.

UNCG was able to cut its deficit to eight on several occasions over the final 4:06 of the game, but ultimately could not overcome the long scoreless spell earlier in the period.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle that featured six ties and five lead changes. UNCG took its first lead of the game, 15-13, on a Jackson put-back lay-up with 15:13 left. The game remained a two-point affair the remainder of the period until Byrd knocked down a deep 3-pointer, her third of the half, with three seconds left to cap a 10-4 run that sent the Spartans into the locker room with a 34-30 lead at the half. Byrd had 13 first half points, while Current added six points.

UNCG will host local rival High Point on Saturday, December 11 at Fleming Gym at 7 pm.