Southern Conference Tournament Recaps

Asheville, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Spencer Collins tallied 17 points and three assists to lift the top-seeded Wofford Terriers to a 73-61 win over the No. 4 seed Western Carolina Catamounts in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament at U.S. Cellular Center.

Lee Skinner posted 14 points and six rebounds for the Terriers (27-6), who will advance to face the 10th seeded Furman Paladins for an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Karl Cochran chipped in 11 points, while Jaylen Allen netted 10 points for Wofford.

James Sinclair paced Western Carolina (15-17) with 16 points and Torrion Brummitt added 12 points. Mike Brown finished with a game-high 12 rebounds and came up just one point shy of a double-double for the Catamounts.

Wofford took a 35-24 lead into the break after it converted 10-of-12 attempts at the charity stripe in the opening period. The Catamounts were limited to 32.4 percent efficiency from the field and committed 10 personal fouls in the first half.

WCU heated up too sink 44.8 percent of its field goal tries in the second stanza. The Terriers protected their lead by outscoring the Catamounts, 14-8, at the free-throw line over the final 20 minutes of regulation.

Wofford’s bench outscored the Catamounts’ reserves, 21-14.

Final Score: Furman 52, Mercer 49

Asheville, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Stephen Croone registered a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds as the 10th seeded Furman Paladins punched their ticket to the Southern Conference Tournament Championship with a 52-49 victory over the No. 3 seeded Mercer Bears at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Devin Sibley added 14 points before fouling out for Furman (11-21), which will take on Wofford in the championship game on Monday. Kris Acox recorded a double-double of his own in the win with 12 points and 10 boards.

Ike Nwamu led Mercer (18-15) with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. T.J. Hallice and Stephon Jelks netted 11 points apiece, while Phillip Leonard tallied eight points, nine boards and five assists.

Mercer led by as many as 12 in the opening period before taking a 31-23 lead into the intermission. The Bears connected on 5-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc and assisted eight of their 10 makes from the floor in the first period. Furman committed nine turnovers before the break.

The Paladins managed to storm back after the intermission despite missing all eight of its attempts from behind the 3-point line. Mercer led, 38-27, with 14:24 remaining before going ice cold from the field. The Bears missed 12 of their final 14 shots from the floor and were outscored, 9-7, at the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes of regulation. Jibiri Bryan missed a potential go-ahead 3-point try with 15 seconds left to play on Mercer’s final possession of the contest.

Furman finished with a 45-31 advantage in total rebounds and outscored the Bears, 22-12, in the paint.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball