ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Behind 17 points from tournament MVP Lee Skinner, Wofford held on to win the 2015 Men’s Southern Conference Basketball Championship presented by General Shale, 67-64 over Furman. The win moves Wofford to 28-6 on the season and earns the Terriers the Southern Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The loss ends Furman’s historic run through the conference tournament and gives the Paladins an 11-22 record.
Skinner turned in 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting to earn the MVP title, while Eric Garcia added 15 points, including a team-high four 3-pointers. SoCon Player of the Year Karl Cochran totaled 11 points and six rebounds, while Spencer Collins was the Terriers’ only other player in double-figures with 10 points.
Furman was led by freshman Geoff Beans with 15 points, all from the 3-point line, while Stephen Croone added 14 and five rebounds. Daniel Fowler finished 5-of-6 from the floor and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line for 11 points, while Kendrec Ferrara added 10 points and five rebounds. Kris Acox added six points for the Paladins before exiting the game with an injury.
The teams traded baskets in the first few minutes of the game, before a quick 6-0 run by the Paladins gave Furman a 10-6 lead heading into the first media timeout of the game. Wofford cut the lead to two on free throws by Skinner, but Furman pushed the lead back to five on Devin Sibley’s first 3 of the game. After another basket by Skinner, Furman grabbed its largest lead of the game at six on Geoff Beans’ second 3. A 7-0 run by Wofford gave the Terriers their first lead of the game at 17-16, before a layup by Acox put the Paladins back in front with 10:33 remaining.
Wofford stretched the lead to three on two free throws by Collins, then again on free throws by John Swinton before Beans’ third 3-pointer of the day tied the game at 23 with 8:22 remaining. The teams continued to trade baskets in a back-and-forth contest, until Wofford took the 33-30 lead on a tip-in by Gordon heading into the final media timeout of the half.
Out of the timeout, Furman cut the lead to one on a pair of free throws by Croone, before Garcia’s third 3 of the half pushed Wofford’s lead back to four with 1:44 remaining. A dunk by Daniel Fowler ignited the Furman crowd and cut the lead to two with under a minute to go in the half and a block by Beans on one end and a layup by Fowler at the other tied the game at 36 and sent the teams to the halftime break.
The teams traded baskets out of the half, before a 3-pointer by Daniel Fowler as the shot clock expired gave Furman the 43-40 lead with 17:11 remaining. Back-to-back baskets by Wofford sent the teams into the under-16:00 media timeout with Wofford on top 44-43, before Furman regained the lead on two free throws by Kendrec Ferrara.
Wofford used an 8-2 run over the next 3:02 to open its biggest lead of the day at 52-47, then again at 54-49, before Furman came storming back, using a 9-4 run of its own over the next 3:02 to take a 58-56 lead with 8:56 remaining. Wofford tied the game at 58 on two free throws by Spencer Collins, before Furman used a drive to the basket by Croone to regain the lead at 60-58 with 5:36 remaining.
The Terriers then used a 6-0 run over the next 2:43 to take a 64-60 lead with 1:20 remaining, forcing Furman to use a timeout. Out of the timeout, a jumper by Daniel Fowler cut the lead to two, before Garcia made one-of-two from the free-throw line to push it back to three. Wofford conceded a layup by Croone that cut the lead to one at 65-54 with 15 seconds remaining, but Garcia made his next two free throws to give Furman the 67-64 championship victory.
Most Outstanding Player
Lee Skinner, Wofford
All-Tournament First Team
Stephen Croone, Furman
James Sinclair, Western Carolina
Karl Cochran, Wofford
Spencer Collins, Wofford
Lee Skinner, Wofford
All-Tournament Second Team
Kris Acox, Furman
Geoff Beans, Furman
Devin Sibley, Furman
T.J. Hallice, Mercer
Ike Nwamu, Mercer