2025 SoCon Men's Basketball Championship Bracket

Spartanburg, S.C. – Senior PJay Smith Jr. buried a three from the top of the key with 1.1 seconds remaining to lift Furman over Wofford, 78-75, in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C.
 
With the victory, Furman improved to 23-8 overall and 11-7 in Southern Conference play. The Paladins secured the No. 5 seed for next week's SoCon Men's Basketball Championship, set for March 7-10 in Asheville, N.C., and will play the No. 4 seed Samford at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, in quarterfinal round action. Wofford (16-15, 10-8 SoCon) will be the sixth seed in next week's tournament and open play in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 6 p.m. versus ETSU at Harrah's Cherokee Center.
 
After Furman led by as many as 19 points, Wofford rallied and used a 14-2 run in the final minutes to erase a 68-60 Paladin lead as the Terriers took a 74-70 advantage with 1:13 left on Jackson Sivills' three-pointer. Furman's Garrett Hien answered with a triple from the left wing with 53 seconds to go, and following a stop on the defensive end, Smith drilled two free throws with 15 seconds remaining to put Furman in front 75-74.
 
Wofford's Corey Tripp drew a foul with eight seconds on the clock and missed the first free throw before converting the second to even the contest at 75-75. Smith pushed the ball across midcourt and gave a jab step before pulling the trigger from the top of the key and draining the eventual game-winning shot with 1.1 left. Jeremy Lorenz last-second three came up short as Furman secured its third victory in Spartanburg, S.C., in the last four years.
 
Furman shot 45.1% from the field, including 10-for-25 behind the arc, and connected on 22-of-28 trips to the charity stripe. Smith hit on 5-of-12 three-point attempts and all 11 trips to the foul line to net a game-high 26 points to go with three boards, three assists, and four steals. Nick Anderson added 21 points while Hien contributed eight points, five boards, and three assists.
 
The Paladins' one-three-one defense was the story in the opening half as Wofford started the contest 2-for-14 from three-point range. Furman built a 28-9 advantage before the Terriers trimmed the lead to 40-29 at halftime.
 
Wofford trailed by eight points with 4:30 to go before an 11-0 run, capped by Tripp's slam and conversion at the foul line, gave the Terriers their first lead of the night.
 
Tripp finished with 16 points and Kyler Filewich totaled 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Sivills went 3-for-6 from three-point range to add 11 points for the Terriers, who outscored the Paladins 18-5 on second chance points and 36-18 in the paint.
 
Furman's victory marked its sixth in the last eight meetings versus Wofford and was its ninth true road win of the season.