February 24, 2003


FURMAN SECOND HALF RALLY SINKS ETSU 84-71;
SOUCHU REGISTERS CAREER HIGH 32

Box Score

JOHNSON CITY, TENN. -- Karim Souchu scored a career high 32 points and claimed a team high nine rebounds to help Furman overcome a nine-point halftime deficit on the way to an 84-71 win over East Tennessee State in Southern Conference basketball action Monday night at Memorial Center.

In earning its fourth straight victory, Furman (13-16, 7-8 SoCon) posted its first back-to-back conference road wins and first four-game conference winning streak since the 1991-92 season. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for East Tennessee State (16-10, 10-5 SoCon).

“This was a heckua victory for us tonight and it was made possible by a heckuva second half,” said Furman head coach Larry Davis, whose team moved into a fourth-place tie with Wofford in the league’s south division, one game behind third place Georgia Southern.

“At halftime we didn’t feel like we were out of the game. We felt like if we defended a little better, got into the passing lanes, and kept them out of the paint and continued to take the same shots as we did in the first half that the game would turn around and we would have a chance to win it, and son of gun if it didn’t. The switch to the zone was also a big factor. It helped us keep them out of the paint a little bit, and thank goodness they weren’t burning it up from the outside.”

Souchu converted 12-of-20 field goals, including two three-pointers, and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line, for the Paladins, who outscored the Buccaneers 51-29 over the game’s final 20 minutes after trailing 42-33 at intermission.

The 6-foot-7 All-Southern Conference forward, who blistered Wofford for 27 points in a 69-66 win over the Terriers in Spartanburg on Saturday, has averaged 27.2 points per game over the past five games. With 1,965 points he is bidding to become only the fourth player in Furman history to score 2,000 points -- a plateau reached by former Paladin All-Americans Frank Selvy (2,538 points), Jonathan Moore (2,299 points), and Darrell Floyd (2,281 points).

Senior point guard Guilherme Da Luz added 12 points, four assists, and five steals to move to within one theft of becoming the first player in Southern Conference history to tally 1,000 points, 600 assists, 500 rebounds, and 200 steals.

Freshman guard Jason Patterson added nine points off the bench for Furman, which shot 56.3 percent (18x32) in the second half and outrebounded East Tennessee State 38-35 for the game. Tim Smith paced the Buccaneers with 19 points.

Trailing 58-50 with just over 14 minutes left, Furman rallied to take its first lead of the game on a basket by Maleye Ndoye at the 11:26 mark and later completed a 13-0 run for a 63-58 advantage following a three-pointer by Jason Patterson with 10:31 remaining.

After a Brad Nuckles layup cut it to 63-60, the Paladins responded by scoring on four straight possessions to key a 9-1 spurt that made it a 72-61 game following a 14-foot jump shot by Marijan Pojatina at the 4:59 juncture.

East Tennessee State sliced the Furman advantage to five points at 72-67 with a pair of Nuckles free throws with 3:45 left, but Furman countered with a layup by Tony Carter and a pair of Souchu free throws on its next two possessions to squelch the Buccaneer rally.

After committing nine turnovers in the first half, the Paladins suffered only four miscues over the game’s final 20 minutes and finished the contest with 12 steals and six blocks, including three by Pojatina.

Ranked last in the Southern Conference in scoring offense for much of the season, the Paladins have averaged 76.8 points per game in their current four-game winning streak.

Furman plays its final regular season game on Thursday when it entertains UNC Greensboro in a 7:00 p.m. game.