Spartanburg, S.C. – Morgan Safford's offensive rebound and putback with seven seconds left helped Wofford edge Furman, 74-73, in the Southern Conference regular season finale for both schools Saturday night at Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C.
 
After Noah Gurley drained a three from the top of the key to give Furman a 73-72 lead with 26 seconds left, the Terriers called timeout. Safford penetrated from the left wing on the Terriers' final possession and missed his leaning jumper, but the guard grabbed his own rebound and converted with 7.0 seconds remaining to put Wofford in front. Furman raced down the court and found Gurley on the left wing, but his long-range jumper missed off of the back iron and the Terriers took possession on the loose ball rebound with 0.7 seconds left after an official review.
 
With the loss, Furman finished the regular season at 16-8 overall and 10-5 in the SoCon. The Paladins will be the No. 3 seed in the SoCon Men's Basketball Championship and will open tournament play on Saturday, March 6, in the quarterfinal round versus No. 6 seed VMI. Tip-off at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C., is set for 8 p.m. The Terriers (15-8, 12-5 SoCon) will be the No. 2 seed in next week's tournament and face the winner of Friday's opening round game between No. 7 Mercer and No. 10 Samford in Saturday's quarterfinal round.
 
Wofford led 68-64 following Messiah Jones' three-point play with 2:54 to go in a game that featured 14 lead changes. Mike Bothwell converted on a pair of free throws on the Paladins' next possession and finished on a second chance opportunity the next time down the floor to even the game at 68-68 with 1:44 to play.
 
After Max Kesmit and Gurley traded layups, the Terriers called timeout with 57 seconds remaining. Jones found Safford on a give-and-go for a dunk to put Wofford ahead to two points before Furman answered with the go-ahead three by Gurley.
 
Wofford shot 59.2% from the floor, including 64% in the second half. The Terriers connected on 44.4% of their three-point attempts and made good on 8-of-10 trips to the foul line. Jones led the way with 19 points, while Storm Murphy finished with 15. Tray Hollowell and Safford contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively.
 
Gurley connected on 11-of-22 shots, including 4-of-8 behind the arc, to match his career high with 29 points. Clay Mounce and Bothwell scored 12 apiece and Alex Hunter added 11. Hunter's first three-pointer of the night marked his 200^th career triple.
 
The Paladins shot 45.6% from the field and converted on 12-of-15 trips to the foul line.
 
Saturday's SoCon quarterfinal round game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available on Nexstar affiliates, including WYCW 62 in the Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville market. Fans can listen to the "Voice of the Paladins", Dan Scott, deliver the play-by-play call on ESPN Upstate at 97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, 97.1 FM/ 950 AM in Spartanburg, and thru the Radio.com app.