VANDERBILT DOWNS FURMAN 78-64
NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Matt Freije and Greg LaPointe scored 17 points each to lift the Vanderbilt Commodores to a 78-64 win over the visiting Furman Paladins Saturday night at Memorial Gym.
Freji and LaPointe headlined a 52.7 percent shooting effort by the Commodores, who used a 7-0 run at the start of the second half to stretch at 32-26 halftime lead to 39-26 advantage following a free throw by La Pointe at the 18:16 mark.
Furman fought back, however, on the strength of a 12-4 run over the next three minutes to slice Vanderbilt's lead to 43-48 with Anthony Smith's 3-pointer with 15:07 left.
The Commodores maintained a lead the rest of the way, going up by as many as 13 points at 64-51 following a layup by Freji with 5:17 remaining. But the Paladins rallied behind a pair of 3-pointers by Karim Souchu and Guilherme Da Luz and a 3-point play by Kenny Zeigler at the 2:27 juncture to get to within four points at 68-64. Vanderbilt answered with a 10-0 run over the game's final two minutes to put the game out of reach as the Paladins failed to connect on their final seven field goal attempts.
Karim Souchu and Kenny Zeigler paced Furman's attack with 17 points each, and the Paladins outrebounded the taller Commodores 40-34, including 16-8 on the offensive boards. The Paladins, however, shot only 37.3 percent from the field, connecting on only 25-of-67 shots and 4-of-24 attempts from 3-point range. Souchu topped all rebounders with 12 caroms.
Vanderbilt, which has played nine of its 10 games at home, improved to 9-1 on the season. Furman dropped to 5-3 with the loss.
The Paladins return to action next Thursday versus New Mexico in Albuquerque. Tipoff is set for 9:00 p.m. EST.