DA LUZ'S 23 LEADS FURMAN
PAST CHATTANOOGA 73-71
IN OT
GREENVILLE, S.C. --- Guilherme Da Laz scored a season high 23 points and added a team high nine rebounds, seven assists, and three steals to lead Furman to a 73-71 overtime win over the visiting Chattanooga Mocs Monday night at Timmons Arena.
Da Luz, a sophomore point guard from Sao Paulo Brazil, scored Furman's final six points in regulation, including a layup with 28 seconds left to tie the game at 58-58 and send it into overtime. Then, in the extra period, he converted seven of eight free throws to help the Paladins to their second straight victory over the Mocs in Greenville.
With the win Furman improves to 19-11 overall and 4-7 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga, which got 16 points from Idris Harper, suffered its second straight defeat for the first time since December and dropped to 13-9 overall and 7-4 in conference action.
"Guilherme Da Luz played an unbelievable game," said Furman head coach Larry Davis. "He just put us on his back and carried us, and I thought Kenny Zeigler played well. We started off pretty slow and they (UTC) were hitting every three-pointer they threw up there, so we were happy to be only down 10 at halftime. In the second half, we just stuck with our game plan, dug in defensively, and they started missing some shots and we made a few. We really needed this one."
"We were cruising in the first half, but in the second half we got punched in the mouth and kicked in the head," said Chattanooga head coach Henry Dickerson. "They (Furman) were more physical and didn't want to lose, and we didn't answer the bell."
Furman almost drowned under a reign of Chattanooga three-pointers in the first half as the Mocs raced to an early 15-4 lead and then scored their next 18 points on six consecutive three-pointers to assume a 33-20 advantage with 5:41 left in the opening period.
Trailing 36-26 at intermission, Furman used an 8-0 run midway through the second half to tie the game at 44-44 following an offensive rebound and putback by Kenny Zeigler with 8:35 left.
But the Mocs responded with their own 8-0 spurt to take a 52-44 advantage after Idris Harper knocked down a three-pointer with 6:19 remaining.
Completing a second half of 8-0 runs, the Paladins answered back with eight straight points to knot the game at 52-52 on a baseline jumper by Kenny Zeigler with 3:14 remaining.
From that point Chattanooga proceeded to grab two-point leads three times only to see Furman's Da Luz erase them with a jump shot, two free throws, and finally with a layup with 28 seconds left. After a pair of timeouts the Mocs' attempt to win the game in regulation failed when Oliver Morton's 15-foot jump shot bounded long off the backboard.
In the overtime period Furman's Anthony Thomas' three-pointer at the 4:29 juncture provided the Paladins their first lead of the game at 61-58 and helped ignite another 8-0 burst that gave Furman a 66-58 advantage following a free throw by Karim Souchu with 55 seconds left.
Held scoreless in overtime until Idris Harper canned a pair of free throws with 48 seconds left to make it 66-60, the Mocs ralied to within two points at 71-69 following a thee-pointer by Harper with eight seconds left, but then, after Thomas connected on one free throw to make it 72-69, the Mocs' Bryan Richardson drove the lane for a layup with four seconds left instead of attempting a potential game tying three-pointer.
Furman, which also got 15 points each from Karim Souchu and Kenny Zeigler, shot 44.8 percent for the game (26-of-58) to Chattanooga's 42.4 percent (25-of-59). The Mocs, who canned 7-of-12 three-point attempts in the first half, were only a combined 3-for-11 from three-point range in the second half and overtime period. Furman also outrebounded Chattanooga 40-34.
Furman returns to action on Saturday when it takes on Southern Confernce South Division front runner College of Charleston in Charleston in a 4:00 p.m. game.