No. 7 UNC Greensboro Upsets No. 2 Wofford 75-72 in Asheville

Justin Neely totaled 22 points and broke his own UNC Greensboro school record with 24 rebounds, sinking two free throws with eight seconds left to secure a 75-72 win over No. 2 Wofford in the Southern Conference quarterfinals at Harrah’s Cherokee Center, listed in some reports as Harrah’s Cherokee Arena, in Asheville on Saturday. The victory sends the No. 7 Spartans into the SoCon semifinals on Sunday to face the winner of No. 3 Samford and No. 6 Furman; Wofford’s season ended with the quarterfinal loss.

UNCG led 36-32 at halftime after Neely scored 11 first-half points, and the Spartans closed the second half with 39 points to hold off a late Terrier charge. KJ Younger finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Noah Norgaard added 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers as UNCG shot 22-of-52 from the field (42%), 9-of-26 from three (35%), and 22-of-30 at the foul line (73%). The Spartans won the battle on the glass, 47-34, and led for 52 percent of the game.

Wofford’s Kahmare Holmes powered the Terriers with 24 points and six rebounds, while Nils Machowski scored 22 and pulled down eight boards. Chace Watley contributed 12 points, and Cayden Vasko and Rex Stirling provided key scoring bursts that kept Wofford within striking distance. Wofford shot 28-of-65 overall (43%) and 10-of-26 from long range (38%), but made only 6-of-19 free throws (32%), a gap that proved decisive against UNCG’s late trips to the line. The official box listed turnovers as 9 for UNCG and 2 for Wofford, and the Spartans’ ability to extend possessions around Neely was pivotal.

The game featured multiple momentum swings. Wofford opened a game-changing 16-0 run in the second half to take a 51-42 lead, and both teams endured a low-scoring stretch that saw the two squads combine for just four points over two minutes. Wofford rallied behind Holmes and the Machowski-Vasko tandem to pull the score even late; the game was tied 70 with roughly a minute remaining before Neely’s rebound and free-throw sequence proved decisive.

The closing seconds drew the crowd to its feet, and the final possession produced frantic drama. “The final seconds felt like they lasted forever,” and with the arena roaring, Wofford rushed down the floor and fed Nils Machowski beyond the arc, who launched a buzzer 3 that “drifted long,” leaving the Spartans to survive by three. The referees on the game were Sidney Cohen, Art Vaulk, and Devyn Page.

UNC Greensboro improves to 15-18 overall and 9-9 in SoCon play for the 2025-26 season, while Wofford finishes the season 19-13 and 11-7 in conference standings. Neely’s 24 rebounds, surpassing the 22 he had against VMI in January, will carry the headline into the semifinal matchup Sunday, where the Spartans will attempt to parlay the upset into a run deeper into the Southern Conference Tournament.