January 2, 2002
FURMAN EDGES GEORGIA SOUTHERN
65-59
IN SOCON SEASON OPENER
GREENVILLE -- Karim Souchu scored 20 of his game high 22 points in the second half to power Furman past Georgia Southern 65-59 in the 2001-02 Southern Conference season opener for both teams Wednesday night at Timmons Arena.
Souchu, a junior from Paris, France, who converted only 1-of-6 field goals attempts in the first half, knocked down 8-of-12 shots, including 4-of-6 3-pointers, over the game's final 20 minutes to help Furman (8-4, 1- SoCon South Division) post its first conference season opening win since the 1998-99 season. Georgia Southern (6-5, 0-1 SoCon South Division) got a career high 21 points from Frank Bennett.
"I was really disappointed in our effort in our last game (against Gardner-Webb), so tonight to come out the way we did, especially from a defensive standpoint and with a strong rebounding effort, was great to see," said Furman head coach Larry Davis. "We got a little tentative against their press, but we were able to overcome that with our defense and rebounding, and I thought we were able to regain our composure and make some key plays down the stretch."
"We had our opportunities, played as hard as we have all year, and gave a great effort, but we just didn't make free throws," said Georgia Southern head coach Jeff Price.
Furman overcame 23 turnovers primarily by shooting 50.0 percent from the field for the game (25x50), including 59.3 percent (16x27) in the second half. The Paladins, led by Souchu's game high 10 rebounds, also outboarded the Eagles 42-31.
Georgia Southern, meanwhile, made only 23-of-57 field goal attempts (40.4 percent) and were only marginally better from the free throw line, making only 10-of-24 attempts (41.7 percent). The Eagles also found the mark on only 3-of-18 3-point attempts while Furman connected on 7-of-18 3-point tries (38.9 percent).
Anthony Thomas joined Souchu in double figures with a 20-point performance and a career high seven assists.
Leading 25-23 at intermission, Georgia Southern scored the first five points on the second half to spark a 9-2 run and grab a 34-25 lead following a steal and layup by Kordel Gibson at the 17:57 mark.
Furman answered with a 7-0 burst, highlighted by a 3-pointer and layup by Souchu, to narrow the margin to 34-32 with 15:23 left.
A Terry Williams 3-pointer at the 7:20 juncture put the Eagles up 49-46, but Furman responded 22 seconds later with a Souchu 3-pointer to tie the game at 49-49, helping to ignite a 10-0 run that saw the Paladins seize a 56-49 lead following a Souchu layup with 5:10 left.
While holding Furman scoreless for the next three plus minutes, Georgia Southern failed to take advantage offensively, mainly due to poor free throw shooting as the Eagles converted only 4-of-10 free throw opportunities in the stretch to only get to within three points at 56-53.
A layup by Souchu with 2:06 left broke Furman's scoring drought and gave the Paladins a 58-53 lead.
A Bennett free throw five seconds later cut the Furman advantage to 58-54, but the Paladins responded with a 15' jump shot by Marijan Pojatina at the 1:38 juncture to make it 60-54. A pair of Paul Foster free throws with 1:20 remaining made it 62-54 and helped Furman preserve the win.
Both teams return to action on Saturday when Furman takes on Wofford in Spartanburg in a 7:00 p.m. game and Georgia Southern hosts VMI in Statesboro in a 3:30 p.m. contest.