November 17, 2002
SOUCHU'S 29 LEADS FURMAN PAST
ALABAMA STATE 74-73
IN FIRST ROUND OF GUARDIANS CLASSIC
OMAHA, NEB. -- Karim Souchu poured in 29 points and Guilherme Da Luz added 18 points, including a short jump shot with five seconds remaining, to lift the Furman Paladins to a 74-73 win over the Alabama State Hornets in Guardians Classic first round action Sunday evening at Omaha Civic Auditorium.
The game marked the season opener for both teams. Furman will now face the winner of Sunday evening's Creighton-Texas-Arlington contest at 8:30 EST Monday. The victory also assures the Paladins a trip to Kansas City, Mo., for a pair of games in the tournament's final two rounds on Nov. 25-26.
Souchu, a senior All-Southern Conference performer from Paris, France, led a hot shooting Furman attack by converting 10-of-17 field goal attempts, including 5-of-8 3-pointers, and 4-of-6 free throws. The Paladins shot 56.9 percent from the field for the game (29-of-51) and 7-of-13 from 3-point range (53.8%). Souchu's 29 points were only two shy of his career high of 31 set last year.
Da Luz added six rebounds and a game high six assists to his 18 points, but it was his final basket, a 10-foot jump shot off a feed from teammate Kenny Zeigler with five seconds left ‹ and the shot clock near zero ‹ that gave Furman a 74-70 lead and sealed the victory. Alabama State's Cedric Mitchell, who paced the Hornets with 20 points, drained a 3-pointer as time expired for the game's final points.
"We got it done. It was nice to get a win while also seeing some things we need to improve on," said Furman head coach Larry Davis. "Other than our last possession, I thought we didn't show enough patience and rushed some shots down the stretch. They weren't bad shots, but we just shot too fast. On our last possession we made several good decisions. Kenny Zeigler passed up a couple of shots and got the ball into Guilherme's hands, and he made it."
Furman led virtually the entire game, trailing only once in the first half when Alabama State's Michael Green connected on a jump shot to the give the Hornets a 17-15 advantage at the 12:14 mark.
Furman used 17 points by Souchu to grab a 41-36 halftime lead and early in the second half extended its lead to eight points at 46-38 following a layup by Paco Gonzalez at the 18:10 juncture. Alabama State, however, put together a 10-3 run to whittle the Paladin advantage to one at 49-48 following a 3-pointer by Keith Gamble with 14:37 left.
From that point on Alabama State knotted the game up three times only to see Furman break the deadlocks with baskets by Maleye Ndoye, Souchu, and Da Luz, whose jump shot with 4:15 left put Furman ahead for good at 68-66. The senior All-Southern Conference point guard from Sao Paulo, Brazil, scored six of the Paladins' final eight points.
Alabama State outrebounded Furman 29-27 and got a game high nine boards from Alvin Pettway. Malcomb Campbell tallied 14 points and Keith Gamble finished with 12 for the Hornets.
Furman's Paco Gonzalez scored 14 points and joined Kenny Zeigler and Da Luz with six rebounds apiece.