Story courtesy of College of Charleston sports information

College of Charleston 69, Wofford 64

Charleston, S.C. -- Dontaye Draper scored 29 points, including a career-high five 3-pointers, and freshman Jermaine Johnson equaled his career-high with 13 rebounds as the College of Charleston secured a first round bye in next week’s Southern Conference Championships with a 69-64 win over Wofford before 3,017 at John Kresse Arena on Wednesday.

With the win, the Cougars improved to 17-9 overall and 9-5 in league play, while the Terriers fell to 11-16 and 6-8.

Wofford, which led 37-36 at intermission, took a 31-22 lead with 5:20 left in the first half on Tyler Berg’s layup. Berg finished with a team-high 23 points hitting 8-of-13 from the field and 7-of-11 from the free throw line.

The Cougars used a 12-4 run to start the second half, capped by a David Lawrence 3-pointer with 15:58 left, to take a 48-41 lead.

Draper, a junior, climbed within 17 points of 1,000 for his career by hitting 10-of-18 from the field overall and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. He made half of his 10 3-point attempts. Lawrence added 10 points and three rebounds.

The Cougars shot 54.2 percent from the floor hitting on 26-of-48 attempts. The Terriers connected on 43.6 percent of their field goals. Charleston held a 38-20 rebounding edge, including 11-7 on the offensive glass.

The Terriers got a spark off the bench from Matt O’Connor and Matt Estep who scored 11 and 10 points each, respectively. The duo combined for 17 points in the first half hitting on 5-of-6 from behind the 3-point line.

Both teams conclude regular season play on Saturday. Charleston plays in a noon contest at Davidson that will be televised nationally on ESPN2. The Terriers play host to The Citadel in 7:00 tipoff.

The Citadel 70, Savannah State 61