January 5, 2001
WOFFORD DOWNS FURMAN 59-49
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Mike Lenzly scored 21 points to lead Wofford to a 59-49 win over Furman in Southern Conference basketball action Saturday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Lenzly tallied 16 of his game high 21 points in the second half to lead Wofford (8-6, 2-0 SoCon South) to their second consecutive league victory. Furman (8-5, 1-1 SoCon South) was paced by Anthony Thomas' 15 points. Karim Souchu added 13 points for the Paladins.
Trailing 21-15 at halftime due, in part, to poor shooting (22.2 percent) in the game's first 20 minutes, Furman used a pair of 3-pointers and two layups by Thomas in the first three-plus minutes of the second half to grab a 25-21 advantage. Wofford, however, answered with a pair of Lenzly 3-pointers, including one at the 15:29 juncture to give the Terriers a 27-26 lead, an advantage Wofford would never relinquish.
Furman later got to within two points at 36-34 following a pair of free throws by Karim Souchu with 9:09 left, but Lee Nixon's dunk and a Lenzly layup on the Terriers' next two possessions made it 40-34 with 8:15 remaining.
Furman could never get within a bucket the rest of the way.
For the game Furman shot 32.1 percent from the field (18x56) and connected on only 6-of-26 3-pointers (23.1 percent) despite coming into the contest as the Southern Conference's top shooting team from 3-point range. Wofford fared a little better from the field, connecting on 33.3 percent (17x51) of its shots and 7-of-18 from 3-point range (38.9 percent).
The big difference in the contest was at the free throw line, where the Terriers knocked down 18-of-27 free throws (66.7 percent). Furman, meanwhile, converted only 7-of-11 free throws. Furman, which got a a game high 10 rebounds from Souchu, claimed a slight rebounding advantage, 41-39.
Furman returns to action on Monday night when it takes on the Western Carolina Catamounts in Cullowhee in a 6:00 p.m. game.