MOUNTAIN DEW SOUTHERN CONFERENCE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
GAME TWO, SESSION THREE
FURMAN UPSETS GEORGIA SOUTHERN
TO ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS
Courtesy of the Southern Conference
GREENVILLE, SC -- Karim Souchu scored 18 points and Stanislav Makshanksev added 11 to lead Furman to a 68-54 win over Georgia Southern in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Dew Southern Conference Men's basketball tournament.
The Paladins, who entered the tournament as the #6 seed of the South Division, won their fifth straight game and will appear in the semifinals for the first time since 1991.
"We survived to play another day," said Furman coach Larry Davis. "We gritted it out in the second half, made some shots, and survived the press late. Our guys believe they can win this thing. We feel we can play well four days in a row."
Georgia Southern, the third seed of the South Division, shot just 35 percent from the field and was held to a season low 54 points. Eagle forward Hamp Jones scored 10 points and was the only GSU player to score in double figures.
Furman's victory marks the second straight year a number six seed has reached the semifinals. Western Carolina knocked off Wofford and Davidson to advance to the semifinal round in last year's tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
Leading 31-26 at the break, the Paladins outscored the Eagles 13-2 at the outset of the second half and raced to a 42-28 lead on a Guilherme Da Luz layup at the 13:42 mark. The lead grew to as much as 15 points, but the Eagles sliced the lead to 55-46 on a pair of free throws by DeMarlo Slocum with 2:27 remaining. Furman nailed nine of 10 free throws in the final 1:23 to seal the victory.
Furman shot 55 percent from the floor in the second half and finished the game 23 of 31 from the charity stripe.
Furman improved to 14-17 while Georgia Southern closed out the year with a 16-12 mark.