FURMAN DOWNS THE CITADEL IN OVERTIME,
70-64
(Courtesy of The Citadel Sports Information)
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Anthony Thomas scored 17 points, including a clutch 3-pointer in overtime and the Paladins connected on all six of their free throws in the extra period as Furman edged The Citadel, 70-64, in Southern Conference basketball action Monday night at McAlister Field House.
Thomas was joined by three teammates in scoring double figures as Kenny Ziegler, Guilherme Da Luz and Karim Souchu each added 13 points to help the Paladins improve to 13-11 overall and 6-7 in the league. With the loss, The Citadel drops to 14-10 on the season and 6-7 in the conference.
The Citadel's leading scorer, Travis Cantrell, who led the Bulldogs with 14 points, had a shot at the end of regulation but the ball rimmed out.
"They (Furman) shot well from the free throw line and we didn't," said Citadel coach Pat Dennis. "They scored right off the bat in the overtime period and we got too far down."
With the game knotted at 59-59, Ziegler hit a short jumper in the lane 33 seconds into the extra period and Thomas followed with a three-pointer at the 3:40 mark, handing the Paladins a five-point advantage at 64-59. Down the stretch, Ziegler hit two charity tosses, Souchu connected on two free throws, as did Da Luz with just 13.2 left in the game
Furman, which entered the game shooting 63.7 percent from the charity stripe, finished 24-for-28 for the game for a season best 87.5 percent. The Paladins entered the contest shooting 71.8 percent from the line over their last 10 games.
"This is a tremendous and tough win for us because The Citadel is very tough on their home floor," said Furman coach Larry Davis. "They have a mature team with a lot of seniors, but both teams needed this game, but we got it."
The victory gave Furman a regular season sweep of their arch rival after earlier defeating the Bulldogs in Greenville, 83-75.
Furman led by as many as nine points in the first half, 36-27, when Souchu canned a three-pointer from the left baseline with 4:07 remaining. The Paladins led at the intermission, 40-34, and dominated the boards, 21-9, with The Citadel grabbing no offensive rebounds.
In the second half, The Citadel led by as many as three points, 50-47, with 10:27 remaining when Cantrell hit a trey from the right side. However, Furman trimmed the lead and actually led by three, 54-51, when Souchu drove the lane, made the basket, and added a free throw.
Alan Puckett's 3-pointer with 3:41 left gave the Bulldogs a one-point advantage, 57-56, but Thomas hit a 3-pointer to pull the Paladins ahead, 59-57. Puckett connected on one free throw and Gregg Jones hit another with 1:21 left to knot the score at 59 each.
Furman had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation but Puckett blocked Da Luzıs baseline jumper and The Citadel called a timeout with 18.6 seconds left. But Cantrell's jumper rimmed out as the buzzer sounded, sending the game into overtime.
The Citadel shot .392 from the floor and a poor .586 from the line as compared to .351 from the floor for Furman. The Paladins won the battle of the boards, 45-32, with Zeigler, Da Luz and Souchu each grabbing 10, giving Furman three double-doubles on the night.
Jones and Joseph, who had seven boards each, led the Citadel.
Furman returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Wofford in a 7:00 p.m. game at Timmons Arena.