PALADINS RIDE STRONG SECOND HALF
TO 70-63
WIN OVER APPALACHIAN STATE
BOONE, N.C. -- Karim Souchu scored a team-high 18 points, including 11 in the second half, to help Furman (10-12, 5-8 SoCon) erase a seven-point halftime deficit en route to a 70-63 victory over Appalachian State (10-16, 7-6 SoCon) Monday night at the Holmes Convocation Center.
The victory, the Paladins' first in Boone since 1991 and fourth road win this season, stopped Furman's four-game road losing skid and put a halt to Appalachianıs four-game win streak -- its longest of the season.
Appalachian connected on 24-of-47 field goal attempts, for 51.1 percent on the night. Furman netted 42.9 percent, including 14-of-25 overall (56.0 percent) and 7-of-12 three-pointers (58.3 percent) in the second half. The difference maker, however, was a Furman defense that forced 22 ASU turnovers. In contrast, Furman only gave up 12.
"Our pressure wore them down and caused 22 turnovers," stated Furman head coach Larry Davis. "We got 19 points off the bench tonight and that was a huge factor. Every guy who played had a role in the win."
Appalachian led by as many as 12 points in the first half, including 30-18 with a little less than three minutes prior to halftime, but Furman used a 7-2 spurt over the final 2:34 to make it a 32-25 game at intermission.
Furman continued its comeback by scoring the first five points of the second stanza to make the score 32-30. After the Mountaineers boosted their lead to 37-30 with 16:44 left, the Paladins immediately answered and following threeıs by Jorge Seraphim -- his second of the half -- and Souchu the score was 37-36.
With his team trailing 49-44, Souchu keyed an Paladin 8-2 run, making a 15-footer from the right elbow, a lay-in, dishing a fast break assist to Paul Foster and finished with another 15-footer to give the Paladins their first lead of the night, 52-51 with 6:06 remaining.
The Paladins continued the momentum, scoring a 10-3 run to go on top 62-54 with 3:15 left after a Guilherme Da Luz lay-in.
Da Luz would finish with eight points and nine assists. Kenny Ziegler tallied 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds for Furman. Marijan Pojatina matched a season-high with five blocked shots. Appalachian outrebounded Furman 34-24, but the difference proved in the turnovers. ASUıs 22 marked the seventh time this season theyıve surpassed 20 turnovers. Its 51.1-percent from the field was the best shooting effort in a loss this season.
Furman hosts The Citadel in its home finale Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Appalachian travels to the Upstate to face Wofford at 7:00 p.m.