CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's basketball wasn't able to overcome its worst shooting performance of the season and fell to Wofford, 56-51, in the championship game of the 2010 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Monday night at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Despite being backed by an extremely pro-Appalachian crowd of 6,193, ASU (22-12) made just two of its first 14 shots and fell into a 21-5 hole less than 10 minutes into the game. A 7-0 Mountaineer run midway through the opening period cut the deficit to nine but Wofford (26-8) outscored the Apps 10-4 over the final 5:30 of the first half to take a commanding 33-18 halftime lead.

Thanks to a dismal .280 shooting percentage (7-of-25) before the break, Appalachian turned in its lowest first-half scoring output of the season.

Things didn't go much better for the Mountaineers to start the second half, as they managed just one point in the first three minutes of the period and Wofford extended the lead to as much as 18.

From the 17-minute mark, Appalachian controlled the action for the next 15 minutes and cut the deficit to four points when Ryann Abraham capped a 23-8 ASU run by drilling a three-pointer while fouled by Wofford's Brad Loesing with 2:30 remaining in the game. Abraham sank the ensuing free throw to complete the four-point play and make it 48-44, the closest the Appalachian had been since it trailed 6-3 just over three minutes into the contest.

The Mountaineers had opportunities to draw even closer but despite ranking among the nation's top 25 teams in free-throw percentage, the Apps missed three crucial shots from the charity stripe in the final minutes. Conversely, the Terriers sank 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal their first-ever SoCon Championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

Appalachian held Wofford to 24 percent from the field in the second half but was unable to overcome its own 28.8 percent shooting percentage (15-of-52) for the ballgame, which was more than five percentage points below its previous season low of 34 percent that it shot at Louisville on Nov. 23.

Andre Williamson led the Apps with 12 points and 12 rebounds, good for his second-career double-double. Abraham was the only other Mountaineer in double-figures with 11 points.

Kellen Brand and Donald Sims earned first-team all-tournament recognition after finishing the championship with team-best scoring averages of 18.7 and 16.3 points, respectively.

Cameron Rundles came off the bench to lead Wofford with 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting on Monday evening. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Noah Dahlman chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Despite falling just short of the third NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, Appalachian remains a strong contender for a bid to one of Division I's other three postseason tournaments - the National Invitation Tournament, the College Basketball Invitational and the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Appalachian, whose 22 victories are tied for fourth in school history, will learn its postseason fate following Sunday's announcement of the NCAA Tournament field.