We've had a couple of close games, which took place between Furman and Mercer--a game that lived up to the hype and came down to the wire with Furman holding on for a 74-72 win--and also Wofford going on the road and getting a huge league win by five points over Western Carolina, as the Terriers held off the Catamounts, 79-74, in Cullowhee.
The only blowout so far is kind of a result we unfortunately already pretty much expected, with East Tennessee State posting a 74-49 win at The Citadel.
Two more games are on tap for New Year's Day, as defending SoCon champion Chattanooga is on the road for a 4 p.m. EST tilt at UNC Greensboro, while Samford will be in Lexington, VA., to take on VMI in a 1 p.m. EST contest.
Below is a look back to the first three SoCon games of the season and the last three games of the 2025 calendar year.
ETSU 74, The Citadel 49
McAlister Field House/Charleston, S.C.
Dec. 30, 2025
East Tennessee State looked the part of being one of the favorites in the 2025-26 Southern Conference race, opening league play in style while also putting an end to a three-game losing streak, posting a resounding 74-49 win on the road at The Citadel Tuesday night at McAlister Field House.
With the win, the Bucs improved to 9-5 overall and 1-0 in league action, while the Bulldogs fell to 3-11 overall and 0-1 in league play. It was the 35th-straight loss to NCAA Division I competition and the it marked the 23rd-straight loss to SoCon opposition if you include regular-season and tournament losses. The last time the Bulldogs tasted victory against a SoCon foe came back on Feb. 24, 2024, as The Citadel posted what was a 71-62 win over Chattanooga at McAlister Field House.
Blake Barkley led the way for the Bucs in the win, as he posted 17 points and was one of four Bucs players in double figures in the road win. Barkley finished 6-of-8 from the field, including 1-of-1 from long-range and was also a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Barkley added four boards and a couple of steals in the Bucs road win.
The Northwestern transfer was joined in double figures by Brian Taylor II and Jordan McCullum, who added 13 points apiece, while Jaylen Smith added 10 points off the bench for ETSU. The only Bulldogs player to find his way into double figures was Christian Moore, who added 10.
ETSU's stellar defense held the Bulldogs to just 32.7% (17-of-52) for the game, including a 21.4% (7-of-32) effort from three-point range. The 49 points that the Bucs held the Bulldogs to in the game were a season-low for an ETSU opponent.
The Bucs, meanwhile, finished the game connecting on 51% (26-of-51) from the field and 40% (6-of-15) from three-point range, while knocking down an impressive 16-of-19 charity shots (84%) on the road.
Both teams got off to a slow start, with The Citadel holding an early 12-9 lead following a layup by Bulldogs guard Christian Moore in the paint with 11:49 remaining in the opening half. While ETSU wasn't scoring from the field, it was doing enough from the line to keep pace, as the Bucs went 7-of-8 from the line, and with just under 10 minutes remaining in the opening half, Cam Morris III's two free throws after being fouled on a fastbreak put ETSU ahead, 16-14, and it would be a lead the Bucs would not relinquish the rest of the evening.
While ETSU maintained strong defense throughout, it would be a three from Allen Strothers that would end the Bucs' scoring drought, which lasted four-and-a-half minutes, and then a Barkley triple with 6:26 left in the half would extend ETSU's lead out to double digits, at 11 points, as it would push the Bucs lead to 26-15. Two layups and a dunk from Barkley put an emphatic cap on a strong opening 20 minutes for ETSU, as the Bucs headed to the half with a 38-20 lead.
Much like the opening half, neither team could find any rhythm at the start of the second half, and the Bucs were able to maintain their large road lead through the opening five minutes of the second stanza. An 11-0 run by ETSU, which was capped by a Gabe Sisk tip-in off his own missed layup attempt allowed the Bucs to push the lead to 28 with 3:44 remaining.
The Bucs later pushed the lead to as much as 30 following an Isaiah Sutherland layup in the paint with 49 seconds remaining and the road team would end up settling for a 25-point road win, as The Citadel closed the night with a Kenyan Davis three-pointer and a Chase Williams jumper, which set the final scoreline of 74-49.
ETSU's win was just an appetizer for what should be a main course game on Saturday afternoon, as the Bucs welcome a very good Mercer (8-6, 0-1 SoCon) team into Freedom Hall for a 4 p.m. EST tip-off.
The Citadel returns to SoCon action on Saturday when it hosts Wofford (9-5, 1-0 SoCon) in a 1 p.m. EST contest at McAlister Field House.
Wofford 79, Western Carolina 74
The Ramsey Center/Cullowhee, N.C.
Dec. 31, 2025
Defending SoCon Tournament champion and NCAA Tournament Wofford got its SoCon campaign off to a positive start on the final day of the 2025 calendar year, which is one that has been filled with both triumph and turmoil, getting a tough, 79-74, win over Western Carolina Wednesday afternoon at the Ramsey Center.
With the win, the Terriers continued their strong start to the new season under rookie head coach Kevin Giltner, as Wofford improved to 9-5 overall and 1-0 in the SoCon. Western Carolina fell to 4-8 overall and 0-1 to start league play.
Nils Machowski led Wofford with 27 points, while Cayden Vasko added 18 and Kahmare Holmes added a team-leading eight rebounds in the important road win to open league play for the Terriers.
Machowski finished his night by connecting on going 9-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-9 from three-point land and was also 5-for-8 from the line. The transfer from UCF also added seven rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
The Catamounts were led by Cord Stansberry, who finished with 20 points, while Tidjiane Dioumassi added 13.
Much like the ETSU-The Citadel game, the Terriers and Catamounts were slow getting the game started on the offensive end of the floor in the opening moments of the game, scoring just 11 combined points in the opening four minutes of the contest.
The two teams would eventually get it going offensively, and it would be the Catamounts that would seize control early, as Cord Stansberry connected on a three to give WCU an early 14-8 lead before freshman guard Jayden Tyler continued off his strong SoCon Player of the Week performance of a week ago, connecting on a three of his own to get Wofford to back within three.
Later in the opening 20 minutes, the Terriers assumed the lead on back-to-back threes from Machowski and Holmes, as the second one by Machowski gave the Terriers a 21-20 lead with 10:10 left in the opening half.
Cayden Vasko's three with 5:44 remaining in the opening half would give the Terriers their largest lead of the opening half, at 31-23, however, seven-straight points by Stansberry, capped by a layup with 4:27 left in the opening half, quickly got the Catamounts back to within a point.
Machowski answered with a jumper for Wofford, and after Samuel Dada went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe, Machowski canned a three to make it a 36-31 lead for Wofford with 2:22 remaining in the half. The Terriers would get one more three in the half from Vasko, settling for a six-point, 39-33, at the break.
Wofford came out and creating some breathing room early in the second half, and it was freshman forward Brian Sumpter that got Wofford off to a strong start with the first five points of the half for Wofford, which included his second-career three-pointer, as the Terriers maintained their lead in the early portions of the second half, at 44-38.
The Terriers had extended their lead out to double digits for the first time in the game leading into the first media timeout, as Vasko and Machowski scored on a layup and a tip-in to give Wofford a 53-42 lead at the 15:10 mark of the second half.
Over the next five minutes, however, the Catamounts would begin to chip away, using a 14-4 run, which was capped by a pair of CJ Hyland foul shots to get the Catamounts to within one, at 57-56, with 10:13 remaining.
Despite the Catamounts cutting the Terriers lead to a single point, Wofford was able to maintain its lead and weather the storm by WCU. A Luke Flynn triple at the 5:55 mark saw the Terriers threaten to push the lead back to double digits, as Wofford assumed a 70-62 lead. Five-straight from the hometown Catamounts, however, prevented Wofford the luxury of any such comfort, as a Stansberry layup, a Marcus Kell free throw and a Dada layup got the Catamounts to within three, at 70-67, with 4:17 left.
Two free throws and a three-point play the old-fashioned way would put the Terriers' lead back to six, at 75-69, with 2:46 remaining, however, layups by Dada and Tidjiane Dioumassi put the Catamounts back to within a bucket, at 75-73, with 49 seconds remaining.
Following a Terrier timeout, Vasko would convert the biggest shot of the night on a turnaround jumper, with 29 seconds remaining, giving Wofford a two-possession lead, at 77-73. After Dioumassi went 1-of-2 from the line to get the Catamounts back to within three with 18 seconds left, Machowski was immediately fouled, and he knocked down both of his free throws to put the Terriers up five, at 79-74, and that would ultimately end up being the final score.
Wofford finished the game connecting on 46.4% (26-of-56) from the field, while connecting on a solid 37.9% (11-of-29) from three-point land and 69.6% (16-of-23) from the free throw line. Western Carolina finished out the day connecting on 37.5% (24-of-64) from the field, including a 25.0% (6-of-24) effort from three-point range. The Catamounts connected on 29.0% (20-of-29) from the free throw line.
Wofford returns to action Saturday, Jan. 3, with a trip to face The Citadel at McAlister Field House in a 1 p.m. EST contest. Western Carolina heads to Greenville to face Furman (10-4, 1-0 SoCon) in a 4 p.m. EST tip-off at Timmons Arena on Jan. 3
Furman 74, Mercer 72
Timmons Arena/Greenville, S.C.
Dec. 31, 2025
With its sixth-straight win and ninth in the last 10 outings, Furman to 10-4 overall and 1-0 in league action, while Mercer fell to 8-6 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Wilkins wasn't far behind Okojie for top scoring honors in the SoCon epic, as he finished with 20 points and seven assists to lead four in double figures for the Paladins. He connected on 7-of-15 shots from the field, including going 3-for-4 from three-point range and was also 3-for-4 from the charity stripe.
Okojie finished with his 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting for the game, including connecting on 2-of-5 shots from long-range in the loss. Okojie also made all six of his free throws in the game and add three assists and a pair of rebounds.
Wilkins would be joined in double figures by Asa Thomas, who finished with 19 points and five boards, while Tom House added 13 and Ben Vander Wal finished with 11. In true glue guy-like fashion, Vander Wal also added seven rebounds and dished out a pair assists.
As good as Wilkins was though, it's arguable that Charles Johnston was Furman's most valuable performer in the game.
The 6-11 senior just missed his eighth double-double of the season, with nine points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals and only one turnover. With Furman thin depth-wise underneath, Johnston also did a great job of defending and being physical without getting into foul trouble.
It was the physical edge that Johnston provided in Saturday's game against a very physical Mercer team that proved especially vital in helping the Paladins secure their first SoCon win of the 2025-26 season.
Johnston's rebounding and his ability to defend a big man like Armani Mighty, keeping him from powering his way down in the paint with his strength was a big key to Furman's win.
The big Aussie's play proved especially vital with Furman being without its other part of that twin-towers duo in the paint--Cooper Bowser--who missed his second-straight game with a lower-body injury. Johnston logged a total of 32 minutes and finished with a team-best +9 in the +/- category.
His defensive performance held Mighty, who entered the game ranking third in the nation with a field goal percentage of 70% this season coming into the matchup, to just 4-of-11 shooting from the field, which computes to 36.3%.
It was Mighty's lowest field goal percentage shooting performance in any game for the Bears this season, and his eight points in the game were five under his average of 13.2 PPG entering the contest. Mighty did show why he was one of the best defensive players in the league, swatting away five shots, as well as ripping down a game-high 13 rebounds.
It was also Vander Wal's ability to do everything from playing power forward to playing point guard in the game, helped Furman adapt to what it didn't have by maximizing the versatility of what it does have. It's the type of resiliency and ability that you have to have to win championships, and though it's only one game, if that continues to hold true for Furman, it likely foreshadows good things to come in January and February, as league teams jockey for positioning for the early March finale at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville.
While Okojie was outstanding for the Bears, he got some solid help from Zaire Williams, who finished with 13 points to finish out the double-figure scorers in the game for Mercer.
Brady Shoulders just missed double figures with nine, while also adding nine rebounds and added five steals. Connor Serven added eight points, three boards and blocked three shots, while Kyle Cuffe Jr. finished with seven off the bench for the Bears.
The Paladins ended the game connecting on 44.1% (26-of-59) from the field and finished 39.1% (9-for-23) from three-point range, and connected on 59.1% (13-of-22) from the charity stripe.
Mercer finished the night connecting on 41.4% (29-of-70) from the field and 35.0% (7-of-20) from long-range. The Bears also finished 77.9% (7-of-9) from the charity stripe.
The Bears held advantages in points in the paint (38-28), points from turnovers (15-9), second-chance points (17-8) and bench scoring (16-2). The Paladins finished holding advantages in total rebounds (41-37), total assists (16-9) and fast-break points (17-10).
Furman and Mercer battled through a tough opening twelve-and-a-half minutes of play, and after eight-straight points from Alex Wilkins, the Paladins built a 23-14 lead midway through the opening half, the Bears responded with a 7-2 run to cut the Paladin lead to four, at 25-21, following an Armani Mighty rebound and putback in the paint.
Two minutes later, Mercer regained the lead on a pair of Baraka Okojie foul shots, at 29-27, with 5:37 remaining in the opening half. It marked the first time the Bears had held the lead in the game since it was 9-8 following a Brady Shoulders layup in the paint at the 15:49 mark in the opening half.
With just over two minutes remaining in the half, Mercer took its largest lead of the afternoon when Shoulders got inside position to gain an offensive rebound and proceeded to follow through with the putback, giving the Bears a 35-32 lead with 2:06 left in the half.
Furman, however, would play good defense over the final two minutes of the half, and would score the final four points of the half, as Wilkins converted a layup in transition before Tom House got fouled on a three with 40 seconds remaining in the half, connecting on 2-of-3 from the line to give the Paladins a 36-35 lead, and the Paladins would play good defense, forcing a Connor Serven missed three on a contested shot from the top of the key. The Paladins went to half with a lead by the narrowest of margins.
The game would teeter back-and-forth as the high echelon play would escalate in execution with the progression of the half. The Paladins assumed the initial momentum, building nine-point, 47-38, lead following a Wilkins triple in transition less than three minutes into the second half. It would be the last time the Paladin lead would reach that margin, although on five other occasions throughout the course of the second half it would widen to seven, however, the Bears' road resilience and tenacity never let the Paladins get any sort of comfortability, despite being in front a larger than expected, loud crowd for a New Years Eve noon tip time.
A Tom House off-balance jumper from about the free throw line at the 7:46 mark saw the Paladins threaten to build enough of a cushion to put the game out of reach, as the senior guard's shot put the Paladins ahead, 59-52.
This is the point in the game where things would change, and the offensive efficiency for the Bears would be at its peak level. After Asa Thomas missed a three and a missed shot off an offensive rebound, the ball went out of play after a scramble of bodies battling to possess the ball before it drifted out of play and the ball was initially awarded to Furman, It was at this crucial point that the Bears felt it crucial enough to utilize their challenge, and it would prove to be a good decision, as the call was overturned and given to the Bears with 6:52 remaining.
With the ball back in their possession, Baraka Okojie banged a top of the key three and the Bears gained a little momentum. After a pair of Furman turnovers, the Bears got to within two when Mighty got the offensive rebound on a Zaire Williams missed three and put it back in to cut Furman's lead to 59-57 with 5:32 left.
Furman's next possession would see House fouled on a three just in front of the Furman bench and just like towards the end of the opening half, House would knock down two of three to put Furman back up by four, at 61-57, with 4:38 remaining. The Paladins would build the lead to five on three different occasions over the next two-and-a-half minutes, with the final coming after Asa Thomas was fouled on a three with 1:37 remaining on a beautifully designed play, that as Bob Richey said in his postgame press conference, was taken from Dan Hurley during UConn's Championship runs, and the Clemson transfer knocked down 2-of-3 from the line to make it a 71-66 lead for the Paladins.
The Bears took a timeout and then another Okojie three, which rolled around the rim several times before going in, got Mercer to within a bucket, at 71-69, with 1:29 left. Wilkins then had a layup blocked by Mighty, but Thomas came up with a key steal before being fouled to put him at the line for a pair of free throws in the double bonus. He would make one out of two to put the Paladins ahead 72-69.
Following Thomas' miss on the second free throw, the Bears advanced it quickly across the timeline and Okojie lobbed a beautiful jump pass to the opposite corner to a wide open Brady Shoulders, who connected on a left elbow three, tying the game, 72-72, with 40.9 seconds left.
Furman took timeout to set up what would prove to be the game winning play, and after Mighty chased Johnston out to the three-point line in the corner, it cleared enough space for Wilkins with a Bears defender on his hip to connect on the running jumper off the glass with 19 seconds remaining, giving the Paladins the 74-72 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Mercer tried several options off an offensive set to get an open look at a three, and when that didn't happen, Ryan Ridder burned a timeout with 5.4 seconds left to set up a better look at a two, which the Bears got. However, Okojie's tear-drop jumper from about 12 feet out caromed off the front and then back of the rim and Mighty grabbed the rebound, but Johnston swatted away his attempted shot after the buzzer and Furman held on for a gutsy, 74-72 win.
Furman returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 3, facing off against Western Carolina (4-8, 0-1 SoCon). Tip-off for that contest is set for 4 p.m. EST at Timmons Arena. Mercer will be in Johnson City to face another of the SoCon's top teams, in East Tennessee State (9-5, 1-0 SoCon). Tip-off for that contest is set for 4 p.m. EST at Freedom Hall.
Notes:
--Furman finished 2025 calendar year with a 23-13 record
--Freshman guard Alex Wilkins posted his 12th of 14 games in double figures this season, including his sixth 20+-point performance
--Mercer guard Baraka Okojie finished off his 14th double-figure scoring performance of the season, including his fourth 20+scoring performance
--Furman improved to 7-1 at Timmons Arena this season and is now 116-20 at Timmons Arena over the past 10 years, including 64-10 against SoCon foes. The Paladins are 33-5 against SoCon foes at Timmons Arena over the last five-plus seasons. The Paladins are now 264-109 are Timmons Arena all-time and 144-81 against league foes.
