Asheville, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Karl Cochran scored a game-high 23 points to lead Wofford to a 56-53 win over Western Carolina to claim the Southern Conference title and punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Cochran hit five 3-pointers while filling the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists and four steals for Wofford (20-12), which advances to the NCAA Tourney for the third time in five years.
Lee Skinner added 11 points and eight rebounds in the triumph, as the Terriers overcame an 0-for-7 shooting night from second-leading scorer Spencer Collins.
Brandon Boggs paced Western Carolina (19-15), scoring 11 of his 17 points in the second half. The Catamounts nearly erased a double-digit deficit for the third straight night, but came up just short when Trey Sumler's leaning 3- pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
Wofford started pulling away near the midpoint of the second half, as Jaylen Allen made a 3-pointer and layup to bookend a 12-2 burst. Sumler ended the flurry with his jumper out of the timeout, but WCU still trailed 44-35, with 8:04 left.
Boggs then scored six straight points around a Skinner layup before driving and dishing off to Tawaski King for a jam to pull the Catamounts within three, 46-43, at the final media timeout.
Cochran and Sumler traded 3-balls 10 seconds apart to keep the lead at three, but Skinner's jumper pushed it to 53-48 with 45 seconds to play.
Boggs' three with just under seven seconds left pulled the Catamounts within a point before Cochran calmly potted a pair of free throws at the other end for a 56-53 edge.
Out of a timeout, Sumler drove the length of the floor to the right wing, where he stopped and pivoted before leaning into his final attempt.
Wofford led 27-20 at halftime and never trailed.
Game Notes
WCU fought from behind to edge Elon and top-seeded Davidson to reach the championship game, while Wofford took down The Citadel and Georgia Southern ... The Catamounts shot just 3-of-18 from behind the arc ... King scored 10 points with a game-high nine rebounds ... Wofford turned it over just four times.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.