GAME TWO, SESSION ONE
MOUNTAIN DEW SOUTHERN CONFERENCE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
March 2, 2000
Courtesy of the Southern Conference
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman's Anthony Thomas led four Paladins in double figures as they claimed a 77-61 Southern Conference Tournament first-round victory over UNC Greensboro Thursday afternoon at the BI-LO Center. Furman (13-17) advances to Friday*s quarterfinals, where they will face Georgia Southern at 2:30 p.m.
Thomas scored a game-high 19 points and had a career-high five steals, while Guilherme Da Luz tallied 15 and Karim Souchu and Stas Makshantsev added 13 and 12, respectively, for Furman, whose four-game winning streak is its longest since 1991-92. The victory gave the Paladins their most wins since the same '91-92 season.
Courtney Eldridge led the Spartans with 14 points, while James Maye added 11. UNCG ends their season at 15-13.
"What these guys have done in the last month, I can't say enough about it," Furman head coach Larry Davis said. "We've just kept working and it's finally paying off. Greensboro was very hot coming into this game. We did a terrific job of executing our game plan and we also made some jumpers, which makes coaching a lot easier."
The Paladins took a 2-0 lead on a Da Laz layup 49 seconds into the game and never trailed. UNC Greensboro got within 9-7 on a three-point play at the 15:36 mark before Furman began to pull away, using a 25-8 run over a 5:43 span to take a 36-21 lead into halftime.
"We consider it kind of like our second home," Furman sophomore guard Anthony Thomas said of the BI-LO Center. "We're used to the floor and the arena. Today, it was all about execution and making shots, and we did."
A 15-8 spurt to start the second half gave Furman a 22-point lead, its largest of the game, as UNCG never got within 14 the rest of the way.
"I was impressed with Furman," UNCG head coach Fran McCaffery said. "Makshantsev blends in better than he did when he first joined the team."