GEORIGA STATE TOPS FURMAN, 70-64
ATLANTA, GA. - Nate Williams scored 21 points and claimed 13 rebounds to lead Georgia State to a 70-64 win over Furman in basketball action Wednesday night at the Georgia State Sports Arena.
Williams scored 14 of his game high 21 points in the second half and helped key a 21-3 Panther run in a nine-minute span to power Georgia State (2-2) to their first win over the Furman (3-4) in basketball.
Leroy Davis added 18 points for Georgia State, which shot a blistering 63.0 percent from the field over the game's final 20 minutes.
Guilherme Da Luz paced Furman with 17 points. Karim Souchu added 13 points and Kenny Zeigler 12 points for the Paladins, but Furman committed 23 turnovers in the contest.
"Our turnovers were the story of the game," said Furman head coach Larry Davis. "You can't turn it over 23 times and expect to win many games. That's 23 times we didn't even get a shot. We will have to improve in that area and be stronger mentally to be a good basketball team."
Furman emerged from a sluggish first half with a 23-21 lead and appeared set to take control early in the second half thanks to a 13-4 run that gave the Paladins a 40-30 advantage following a layup by Maleye Ndoye with 15:36 remaining.
Georgia State answered, however, taking advantage of seven Paladin turnovers to fashion a decisive 21-3 spurt over the next 10 minutes to grab a 51-43 lead following a steal and dunk by Davis at the 6:30 juncture.
Furman could get no closer than six points the rest of the way.
Georgia State, which shot only 30.8 percent from the field in the first half, finished the game with a 47.2 percent shooting clip, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range over the final 20 minutes. Furman, meanwhile, connected on 43.6 percent of its field goal attempts and only 3-of-16 3-pointers (18.8%).
The Panthers claimed a 33-29 rebounding advantage.
Furman returns to action on Saturday
when it takes on the Memphis Tigers in Memphis. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00
CT (8:00 ET).