No. 1 seed ETSU 97, No. 5 Western Carolina 75
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – No. 1 seed ETSU never trailed Sunday, easing past No. 5 seed Western Carolina 97-75 in the semifinals of the 2020 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale. The Bucs advance to Monday night’s title game for the fourth time in five seasons.
 
The Bucs will face either No. 6 seed Chattanooga or No. 7 seed Wofford inside Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville at 7 p.m. The contest will air on ESPN.
 
ETSU, which last won the SoCon tournament in 2017, scored the game’s first seven points and never looked back, pushing the lead into double digits to stay on Daivien Williamson’s three-point play with 11:01 to go in the first half that made it 24-13. Another Williamson three-point play gave the Bucs their first 25-point lead of the half at 44-19 with 4:07 to go, but Western Carolina closed the opening frame on a 9-2 run to reclaim some momentum and enter the break down 48-30.
 
Matt Halvorsen’s 3-pointer 1:26 into the second stanza pulled Western Carolina within 15, but that was as close the Catamounts would get the rest of the way. The Bucs answer with 3s from Williamson, Isaiah Tisdale and Tray Boyd III in a 9-0 run to squash any hope of a Western Carolina comeback.
 
All five starters scored in double figures for the Bucs, who set a school record with their 29^th win of the season. Williamson led the way with 20 points, with Boyd pouring in 18 on the strength of a 4-for-9 afternoon from beyond the arc. Tisdale and Bo Hodges scored 13 apiece, with Lucas N’Guessan going 8-for-10 from the free-throw en route to 12 points.
 
Mason Faulkner led Western Carolina with 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, all game highs. He was 7-for-15 from the floor and 15-for-17 from the free-throw line. Steger finished with 15 points and Carlos Dotson had 11.
 
RECORDS: ETSU 29-4 | Western Carolina 19-12
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- ETSU’s win was its 29^th of the season as the 2019-20 squad took sole possession of the school record for wins in a season. The Bucs matched the 1990-91 team’s win total (28-5) with Saturday’s 70-57 win over VMI in the SoCon quarterfinals.
- A win in Monday’s championship game would make ETSU just the fourth 30-win team in SoCon history. Wofford (30-5) reached the mark last season, as did North Carolina (30-5) in 1945-46 and NC State (30-7) in 1950-51.
- ETSU improved to 2-3 against Western Carolina in the SoCon tournament and picked up its first win over the Catamounts in the tournament since 1990. Overall, it was ETSU’s 11^th straight win over Western Carolina.
 
3 STATS TO KNOW
-  ETSU got off to a hot start by shooting 53.6 percent (15-for-28) from the floor in the first half but outdid itself in the second, shooting 63.3 percent (19-for-30) from the floor. The Bucs’ overall 58.6 percent for the game is second this season only to their 62.5 percent against UT Martin on Nov. 9.
- Mason Faulkner finished his first season on the floor for the Catamounts with averages of 17.7 points and 6.1 assists per game, marks that rank third and second, respectively, in the SoCon. Faulkner also finished inside the top 10 in the league in rebounding at 6.0 per game and notched the only two triple-doubles in the league this season.
- ETSU’s title-game appearance on Monday will be its 12^th, a mark that trails only Chattanooga (18) among current league members.
 
No. 7 seed Wofford 72, No. 6 Chattanooga 70
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – No. 7 seed Wofford continued its improbable run through the 2020 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale, downing No. 6 seed Chattanooga 72-70 Sunday on a jumper by Storm Murphy in the game’s final seconds to earn a spot in Monday night’s title game.
 
The Terriers will face the No. 1 seed ETSU Bucs inside Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville in a 7 p.m. contest on ESPN. Despite dropping seven straight to end the regular season, the Terriers will play for a second consecutive SoCon title, in a championship game in which they are 5-0.
 
Four players scored in double figures for Wofford, none more important than Murphy’s 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting, also added six assists. Tray Hollowell hit four 3-pointers on the evening for 12 points, while Messiah Jones and Chevez Goodwin added 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Terriers shot 50 percent from the floor (25-for-50) and 55 percent from beyond the arc (11-for-20).
 
Wofford shot 50.0 percent in the first half and ended the half on an 8-0 run to open its largest lead of the game at 35-27. The Mocs led 24-22 at the 5:38 mark, but the Terriers used a 13-3 scoring advantage to close out the half. The Terriers went 6-or-12 from beyond the arc in the first half, while holding Chattanooga to 1-for-6 from deep.
 
Chattanooga cut the lead to one to open the second half, but Murphy scored three straight baskets to help the Terriers to a seven-point advantage. Wofford stretched the lead to 10, but the Mocs stayed in it on three straight 3-point baskets, cutting the lead to one. A free throw by Stefan Kenic tied the game at 47 with 11:30 to go before a 3-pointer by Jonathan Scott gave Chattanooga its first lead since the first half.
 
The Mocs opened their largest lead of the game at 5, but Wofford hit back-to-back 3s to retake the lead with just over 8:30 to go. The teams both held serve for nearly the next four minutes of game clock, before Ryan hit his fourth 3 of the day to give the Mocs the lead. Wofford immediately responded, however, with Hollowell’s fourth triple of the afternoon to tie the game at 64 at the final media timeout.
 
Maurice Commander gave the Mocs a three-point lead out of the timeout, then Wofford pulled to within two and Ryan Larson tied the game for the Terriers on two free throws with 1:00 to go. Following a defensive rebound, Murphy hit the game-winner for the Terriers with just 3.1 seconds on the clock.
 
Ramon Vila led Chattanooga in scoring for the second straight game with 19 points, while Matt Ryan hit four 3s and added 16 points and Commander totaled 13. The Mocs matched the Terriers’ shooting percentage at 50 percent (26-for-52), but hit just nine 3s on the night.
 
 
RECORDS: Wofford 19-15 | Chattanooga 20-12
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- Should Wofford win Monday night, it would become the first team to win four games to win the tournament since Clemson did so in 1939.
- Wofford is the lowest-seeded team to reach the SoCon title game since No. 10 seed Furman lost to the top-seeded Terriers in the 2015 championship tilt.
- Defending champion Wofford has a chance for its third title repeat. The Terriers went back-to-back in 2010 and 2011 and then again in 2014 and 2015.
 
 
3 STATS TO KNOW
-  Wofford has hit 36 3-pointers through its first three games of the tournament, two shy of the tournament record set by Western Carolina in four games in 2012.
- Chattanooga was held under 30 rebounds for just the fifth time this season. The Mocs lost the rebounding battle 30-28 on the evening as rebounds were scarce with both teams shooting 50 percent from the floor.
- Despite tonight’s loss, Chattanooga still has the highest winning percentage among current league schools in the semifinal round at .750 (18-6).
 
2020 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale
Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, Asheville, N.C.
 
Friday, March 6 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (9) VMI 96, (8) Samford 78
Game 2 - (7) Wofford 93, (10) The Citadel 76
 
Saturday, March 7 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) ETSU 70, (9) VMI 57
Game 4 - (5) Western Carolina 70, (4) Mercer 56
Game 5 - (7) Wofford 77, (2) Furman 68
Game 6 - (6) Chattanooga 78, (3) UNCG 68
 
Sunday, March 8 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 7 - (1) ETSU 97, (5) Western Carolina 75
Game 8 - (7) Wofford 72, (6) Chattanooga 70
 
Monday, March 9 (ESPN)
Game 9 - (1) ETSU vs. (7) Wofford