November 11, 1999
Release: Upon Receipt
FURMAN TOPS ALYTUS LITHUANIA
88-78
IN EXHIBITION BASKETBALL ACTION THURSDAY
GREENVILLE -- Karim Souchu scored 23 points and Guilherme Da Luz tallied 18 points to lead Furman past Alytus Lithuania 88-78 in exhibition college basketball action Thursday night at Timmons Arena.
Souchu, a 6-foot-6 freshman forward from Paris, France, converted 8-of-13 field goals and 6-of-10 free throws in 23 minutes of action to pace the Paladins, who shot 46.0% from the field en route to their second exhibition win of the pre-season following last Saturday's 75-70 victory over Belarussia. Souchu also claimed seven rebounds to match teammate Marcus Dilligard for game high honors.
Da Luz, a freshman point guard from Sao Paulo, Brazil, converted 6-of-9 field goals and all six free throws for his 18 points.
"We have a long way to go, but we have the tools that will allow us to get where we want to go," said Furman head coach Larry Davis following the win. "Our biggest need is to gain game experience. I was pleased with our overall effort offensively, but we are going to have to get a lot better defensively before we become a good basketball team."
Alytus' Robert Conley led all scorers with 28 points, and Arunas Seferis added 14 for the touring Lithuanian squad, which drops to 1-3 on its five-game American tour that has included losses to Arizona (96-44) and South Carolina (63-58), and win over USC-Aiken (78-66).
Furman opens its season on Nov. 20 when it hosts Southeastern (Fla.) College in a 1:00 p.m. game.