ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Eric Ferguson scored 17 points and Georgia Southern closed the first half with a 14-0 run to defeat Wofford 60-44 on Friday in the opening game of the Southern Conference tournament.
The ninth-seeded Eagles (14-18) led 30-18 at halftime after holding Wofford scoreless for the final 7:13 of the half. The Terriers (13-19) never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Tre Bussey added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Eagles, who outrebounded Wofford 40-28, and C.J. Reed had 10 points.
Georgia Southern will play top-seeded Davidson in the quarterfinals today. The Eagles handed the Wildcats their only conference loss this season, 70-57 on Jan. 14.
Indiana Faithfull and Spencer Collins scored 10 points each to lead Wofford, which earned the eighth seed by beating Georgia Southern twice in the regular season. Karl Cochran, the Terriers’ second-team all-conference guard, was held to four points on 2-for-10 shooting.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN (14-18)
Ferguson 7-12 3-6 17, Bussey 3-7 4-4 12, Reed 4-16 1-2 10, Roberts 3-10 2-2 9, Baskerville 2-6 2-2 6, Baynham 2-4 1-1 5, Mike 0-1 1-2 1, Daniels 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 14-19 60.
WOFFORD (13-19)
Faithfull 4-9 0-0 10, Collins 4-13 2-3 10, Skinner 3-7 3-6 9, Cochran 2-10 0-0 4, Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Gordon 2-4 0-0 4, Swinton 1-3 0-0 3, Byrd 1-3 0-0 2, Wagener 0-2 0-0 0, Neumann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 5-9 44.
Halftime—Georgia Southern 30-18. 3-Point Goals—Georgia Southern 4-13 (Bussey 2-3, Roberts 1-3, Reed 1-5, Baskerville 0-2), Wofford 3-20 (Faithfull 2-3, Swinton 1-1, Byrd 0-1, Gordon 0-1, Wagener 0-2, Skinner 0-3, Collins 0-4, Cochran 0-5). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Georgia Southern 40 (Bussey 9), Wofford 28 (Skinner 9). Assists—Georgia Southern 6 (Reed 4), Wofford 7 (Cochran 4). Total Fouls—Georgia Southern 12, Wofford 16. A—NA.