Wofford won the 94th Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship on Monday, holding off Western Carolina in a thrilling 56-53 final at the U.S. Cellular Center. It's the Terriers' third championship, all coming in the last five years. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Karl Cochran (6'1''-G-92) led Wofford with a game-high 23 points, including a 5-for-10 performance from 3-point range. He added five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Lee Skinner (6'6''-F-92) chipped in 11 points and eight boards. Brandon Boggs (6'5''-G) paced the Catamounts with 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Tawaski King (6'8''-F) added 10 points and nine rebounds. The Terriers built an 11-point lead in the second half. Jaylen Allen (6'3''-G-94)'s layup at 8:43 made it 44-33 and capped seven unanswered points for the three seed. Western chipped away at the lead. Six straight points from Boggs followed by a slam dunk from King got the Cats within three, 46-43, with 4:13 to play. It was still a three-point margin when Cochran struck from deep. His trey at 1:27 pushed the lead back to six, 51-45. It's not call March Madness for nothing. King's tip-in with just over 35 seconds remaining got the fifth-seeded Catamounts to within three again, 53-50. Four straight fouls on inbounds plays finally got Wofford to the bonus. Spencer Collins (6'4''-G-93) stepped to the line and missed the front end of the one-and-one, but Skinner was there to grab the offensive board. He was fouled and made one of two to make it a two-possession game with just under 30 seconds remaining. Boggs came up big again. His 3-pointer with eight ticks left made it a one-point game again. Cochran was fouled on the inbounds play and sank two free throws with 5.3 seconds to play. Drama unfolded. After a Wofford timeout, Western's Trey Sumler (6'2''-G) pushed the ball up the court. He stopped, pump-faked to create space and got a decent look from 21 feet. It caromed off as Wofford claimed the win.
Courtesy of SoCon
Southern Conf. Tournament Final: Wofford - Western Carolina 56-53
All-Tournament MVP:
Karl Cochran (6'1''-G-92) of Wofford Player of the Year:
DeMon Brooks (6'7''-F-92) of Davidson Defensive Player of the Year:
Zaccheus Mason (6'6''-F-91) of Chattanooga Freshman of the Year:
Tevon Saddler (6'4''-G-95) of NC-Greensboro Freshman of the Year:
Isaiah Williams (6'1''-PG-95) of Samford Coach of the Year:
Mike Young of Wofford Coach of the Year:
Will Wade of Chattanooga
Young
