Philip McCandies 3-pointer from the right wing as time expired lifted the College of Charleston to a thrilling 77-75 win over Wofford in Southern Conference action before 3,431 at John Kresse Arena on Monday.
The victory improved Charleston's record to 14-7 overall and 7-2 in league play. Charleston has won 11 of its last 12 games and five in a row overall. Wofford is 6-14 and 1-8.
After Wofford's Junior Salters hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to give the Terriers a 75-74 lead, McCandies inbounds the ball to Dontaye Draper, who drove to the top of the key, was double teamed, but eventually found McCandies open for the game-winner. It was Draper's career-best 11 assist and McCandies only 3-point field goal of the game and just his 10th of the season.
Salters' trey capped a 6-0 Wofford run to erase a 74-69 deficit.
The Terriers roared out to a 35-17 lead with 5:20 left in the first half on Eric Marshall's 3-pointer. Marshall left the game later in the first half with an apparent knee injury and did not return. The Cougars closed the half on a 14-2 run over the final 4:25 cutting the margin to 37-31 at intermission.
The Cougars opened the second half with a 24-13 run to take a 55-50 lead with 11:14 remaining. Wofford answered by outscoring CofC 17-4 to take a 67-59 lead with just 6:50 remaining.
Jermaine Johnson had a career-best 22 points while Draper added 22 points for his first career double-double. His 11 assists was the most by a Cougar since A.J. Harris had 11 assists in an 89-72 win over Chattanooga on February 19, 2001. David Lawrence led the Cougars with 10 rebounds.
Junior Salters led Wofford with 16 points, while Tyler Whatley scored 14 points and added nine rebounds. Drew Gibson scored seven points with a team-high 10 assists and nine rebounds.
For the game, Charleston shot 50.0 percent from the floor hitting 30-of-60 attempts, including 17-of-29 in the second half (58.6%). The Terriers shot 45.9 percent for the game and 46.4 percent from behind the 3-point line connecting on 13-of-28 attempts.
Charleston travels to Chattanooga to battle the Mocs in a 2:00 start on Saturday. Wofford plays at Western Carolina on Monday at 7:30.
