Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Furman showed up at the ball like Cinderella, and didn’t want to leave. In Asheville, NC last night the 10 seed Furman Paladins (11-22) on the season had college basketball fans across the country watching their tv’s wondering “Can they really pull this off?” Fresh off upsets of the Citadel, 2 seed Chattanooga, and last season’s media darling 3 seed Mercer (Duke Blue Devil fans cringe), Furman gave top seed Wofford (28-6) all they wanted and more. In the end though clock struck midnight for Furman, as Wofford made enough plays down the stretch to hold off the pesky Paladins 67-64. SoCon Player of the Year, and SoCon Tournament MVP Karl Cochran hit a huge three late that gave the lead to Wofford that they would never reliquish. He also blocked a Paladin three point try that would have tied the game at 67 with just under ten seconds left.
Karl Cochran (2) scored 23 points and hit the clinching free throws with 5.3 seconds left. / Jeremy Brevard, USA TODAY Sports
Furman had some bad news early as Kris Acox (possibly the Paladins MVP so far in this tournament) went out of the game with an ankle injury. Acox did not return. However, Furman continued to hang around, even taking a lead late in the game. Wofford refused to fold and hit key free throws down the stretch, and get the Cochran stop to hang on for the victory. Wofford advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in six years and the second consecutive season.
Beware 5 seeds as you are already a popular upset pick. These Terriers are just itching to take a bite out of you and ruin some brackets across the country.
