#9 Georgia Southern 60, #8 Wofford 44
Box Score
ASHEVILLE, N.C. --- Georgia Southern claimed the first win of the Southern Conference Championship 60-44 over Wofford Friday afternoon in ExploreAsheville.com Arena. GSU, the ninth seed, is 14-18, while the eighth-seeded Terriers end the year 13-19.
Eric Ferguson paced the Eagles with a game-high 17 points and five rebounds, while Tre Bussey chipped in 12 points tying for game-high honors with nine boards. Indiana Faithfull and Spencer Collins each had 10 points to lead the Terriers.
The Eagles used a strong defensive push to take control of the game. They held Wofford without a field goal for more than nine minutes to turn a two-point deficit into a 14-point advantage, 32-18. Ferguson capped the 16-0 run with a jumper with 19:24 to play.
The scoreless stretch was snapped at 18:24 by two Lee Skinner free throws. Aerris Smith broke the shooting slump with a layup 27 seconds later. Wofford looked to have taken over momentum as just more than a minute later Karl Cochran made it an eight-point affair, 32-24.
But eight was as close as it would get. Leading 34-26, GSU broke open the game scoring 15 of the next 21 points to take its largest margin of 17, 49-32 on two Cameron Baskerville free throws with 9:09 to go. The game would not get closer than 12 the rest of the way.
The Eagles dominated the glass 40-28. The plus-12 margin is the second best this season behind plus-21 at UNCG two games ago.
It was a defensive struggle. GSU shot just 37.5 percent from the field, but it muzzled the Terriers defensively. Wofford managed to shoot just 34 percent (18-53) including 15 percent, three-for-20, from three-point range.
Georgia Southern moves on to face No. 1 seed Davidson at Noon in ExploreAsheville.com Arena inside the Asheville Civic Center. GSU was 1-1 against the Wildcats in 2012-13. All tournament games through the semifinals are broadcast on ESPN3.com.
#12 Furman 55, #5 Samford 51
ASHEVILLE, N.C. --- Furman posted the first upset of the 93rd Southern Conference Championship 55-51 over Samford Friday afternoon in ExploreAsheville.com Arena. The 12th seed, Furman is 7-23, while the fifth-seeded Bulldogs end up 11-21. It is the third straight year the Paladins topped the Bulldogs in the first round of the tournament.
Bobby Austin paced the Paladins with a game-high 17 points, while Stephen Croone added 11. Samford was led by Tim Williams with 15 points and six rebounds as Tyler Hood chipped in 13.
It was a thriller until the end. The Bulldogs led or the game was tied well into the second half. Furman took its first lead, 40-39, on a Kendrec Ferrara three-point play with 10:29 to play. Raijon Kelly answered with a trey a little more than a minute later to retake the lead 42-40 at 9:03.
The Paladins went on a 9-2 run capped by Croone's three-pointer at 6:09 to give his squad its largest lead of five, 49-44. The Bulldogs cut the lead to one twice including with 1:16 to play on two Williams free throws.
After a missed shot, Croone came up big for Furman. His steal with 27 ticks to go and subsequently making one of two free throws made it a two-point game, 53-51. Kelly drove to the basket but his shot was off. Austin grabbed the rebound and made both his free tosses to cement the win with 11 seconds to go.
Furman was strong on the boards with a 34-24 advantage. That was led by Charlie Reddick with 10 and Colin Reddick with nine. The Paladins free throw shooting was key as well shooting 73.7 percent (14-19) for the game, 75 percent (12-16) in the second half. The two teams combined for just 13 turnovers with five for Samford and eight for Furman.
The game was tied 25-25 at the half. Samford led for all but 2:53 of the first half. Russell Wilson's layup with 11:20 left until intermission put the Bulldogs up six, 16-10. The Reddick brothers - Colin and Charlie - had the answer. The duo combined for five straight to cut the lead to one, 16-15 at 9:15 on Charlie's trey. Bobby Austin's three with 1:24 left sent the two squads into the locker room knotted at 25-all.
Furman takes on No. 4 seed Appalachian State in the quarterfinals Saturday at 2:30 p.m., in ExploreAsheville.com Arena inside the Asheville Civic Center. The Paladins were 0-1 against the Mountaineers in 2012-13. All tournament games through the semifinals are broadcast on ESPN3.com.