No. 1 ETSU and No. 5 Furman set to meet in the SoCon finals

No. 1 ETSU 69, No. 5 Western Carolina 67

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – No. 1 seed ETSU avenged its two regular season losses to No. 5 Western Carolina, rallying from a 17-point second-half deficit for a 69-67 win in a semifinal game of the Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship at Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville on Sunday.

Mocs forward Blake Barkley capped a 19-point performance with a three-point play with 38.8 seconds remaining, giving ETSU a 68-67 lead.

After a missed shot by Western Carolina, Brian Taylor II was fouled and made one of two free throws for a 69-67 lead. He led the Mocs in scoring with 22 points. Western Carolina missed two 3-point attempts in the final seconds of the game.

The Catamounts, which had an seven-game winning streak snapped, finished with a 15-16 record.

ETSU (23-10) is back in the championship game for the second time in three seasons. The team fell to Samford in the 2024 title game. The Bucs last won the SoCon title in 2020 with a win over Wofford.

Marcus Kell scored 18 points for the Catamounts, who were trying to advance to the title game for the first time since 2014. 

Western Carolina dominated the first half, leading 38-24 at halftime. The Catamounts increased their lead to 41-24 before the Mocs began their comeback.

Things to know

- After shooting 33 percent in the first half, the Bucs made 15-of-24 attempts in the second half for a blistering 62.5 percent.

- Led by Barkley, the Mocs held a 28-22 advantage with points in the paint.

- Western Carolina won the two earlier games against ETSU by a total of six points.

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No. 6 Furman 81, No. UNCG 75

ASHEVILLE, N.C.-- Freshman guard Alex Wilkins was unstoppable in the second half, scoring 28 of his career-high 34 points to rally No. 6 Furman to an 81-75 win over No. 7 UNCG in a semifinal game of the Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship on Sunday night.

Furman, who won the tournament in 2023, advanced to the title game for the fourth time in the last five years.  The Paladins will play No. 1 seed ETSU on Monday night at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.

The crowd at Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville saw Wilkins go from making 2-of-8 field-goal attempts in the first half to 8-of-9 in the second, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Wilkins was perfect on 10 free throws including two for the Paladins' final points.

Wilkins' previous high had been a 33-point performance against Chattanooga on Feb. 1.

Furman began the second half trailing, 38-27. There were five ties and five lead changes when Furman took the lead for good, 61-58, on a 3-pointer by Eddrin Bronson with 6:40 remaining.  From there, Wilkins scored 12 of the team's final 18 points.

Furman forward Cooper Bowser made all six of his field-goal attempts, finishing with 14 points. Bronson added 12.

Justin Neely had another big game for UNCG, making 9-of-12 field-goal attempts and finishing with 27 points. Teammates Lilian Marville and KJ Younger finished with 20 and 15, respectively.

Things to know

- Furman lost both regular-season games to ETSU, 75-71, in overtime on Feb. 4, and, 78-69, on Feb. 18.

- The Paladins have made 39-of-46 free throws in their two tournament games. 

- Furman is 9-0 when they score 80 or more points.

2026 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Friday, March 6 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 1 - (9) The Citadel 88, (8) Chattanooga 85
Game 2 - (7) UNCG 84, (10) VMI 70
 
Saturday, March 7 (ESPN+/SCETV)
Game 3 - (1) ETSU 83, (9) The Citadel 76
Game 4 - (7) UNCG 75, (2) Wofford 72

Game 5 - (6) Furman 86, (3) Samford 81

Game 6 - (5) Western Carolina 77, (4) Mercer 73
 
Sunday, March 8 (ESPNU)
Game 7 - (1) ETSU 69, (5) Western Carolina 67
Game 8 - (6) Furman 81, (7) UNCG 75

Monday, March 9 (ESPN)
(1) ETSU vs. (6) Furman, 7 p.m.