Wofford will play in its second straight NCAA Tournament, but the Terriers had all they could handle from a true Cinderella story on Monday in the Southern Conference tournament championship.
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No. 10 seed Furman, the Terriers’ old, bitter rival, had a chance to win in the final minute but couldn’t come up with the plays to complete what would have been one of the most improbable conference tournament title runs in history.
Wofford claimed the title for the fourth in the past six seasons with a 67-64 victory despite an off-shooting night from star guard Karl Cochran who finished with 11 points and went 1-for-7 behind the 3-point line.
But Wofford is not a one-man show. Three other Terriers schored in double figures including guard Eric Garcia, who finished with 15 points and made four 3-pointers. Forward Lee Skinner led Wofford with 17 points.
The teams have played 136 times since series began in 1908 but Monday’s contest was the first meeting in the postseason. Furman (11-22) had beaten No. 2 seed Chatanooga and No. 3 seed Mercer to earn a shot at making history.
Furman knocked down nine 3-pointers to keep itself in the game. Forward Geoff Beans came off the bench to hit five 3-pointers and lead his team with 15 points.
Wofford has won eight straight and 15 of its past 16 entering the NCAA Tournament. It overcame a stretch of more than 6 minutes without a basket on Monday. It helped that the Terriers didn’t have to contend with Furman forward Kris Acox for most of the game.
Acox hurt his left foot in first half and didn’t return.
Furman was trying to earn its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 35 years. It was also vying to be the third team in history to advance to the NCAA Tournament with 20 losses on its resume. Coppin State (2008) and Liberty (2013) remain the only teams to do so.
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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
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