#3N Appalachian State 58
#6S Furman 56
GREENVILLE, S.C.-- Donald Payne's layup with 0.55 seconds remaining led Appalachian State to a 58-56 victory over Furman Thursday in the first round of the 2001 Mountain Dew Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championships at the BI-LO Center.
The Paladins tried a length-of-the-court pass after time was replaced on the clock, but the ball was tipped away.
Furman's Guilherme Da Luz tied the game for the final time at 56-all with three seconds left in the game. After a timeout, Payne took a pass on the right side of the lane and made the layup before time expired. He finished with nine points and five rebounds.
ASU center Josh Shehan scored a career-high 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting. His final bucket of the night gave the Mountaineers a 56-54 lead with 1:02 on the clock.
Furman's Anthony Thomas missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 49 seconds left. Following a turnover, Da Luz missed a potential game-tying layup with 18 seconds to play but got his own rebound before tying the score.
A Payne basket at 9:50 began a 5-0 ASU spurt which allowed the Mountaineers to grab a 46-42 edge at the 6:52 mark. Furman regained a 49-48 lead on Kenny Zeigler's basket with 3:51 to play.
The lead changed hands three more times before De Luz knotted the score.
A Shehan layup at 10:13 of the first half gave the Mountaineers the largest lead of the game at 17-11. The score was tied at halftime, 26-26.
ASU, the defending SoCon Tournament champions, defeated the Paladins for the eighth consecutive time in the Tournament.
Karim Souchu led the Paladins, 10-16, with 21 points, including four three-pointers. Thomas added 13 points.
The Mountaineers, 11-19 and the third seed in the SoCon North Division, faces South No. 2 Chattanooga Friday at around 8:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals.