December 19, 2002
FURMAN DOWNS SEWANEE 76-56
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Karim Souchu scored 24 points to lead Furman past Sewanee 76-56 Thursday night at Timmons Arena.
Souchu's performance propelled him from 12th to 10th on the school's all-time scoring charts, giving him 1,605 points in his career, thus making him one of only 10 players in Furman history to reach the 1,600-point plateau.
Furman (5-6) got 15 first half points from the senior from Paris, France, to race to a 39-19 halftime lead and were never threatened over the game's final 20 minutes. Jason Patterson added a career high 16 points and Maleye Ndoye chipped in 12 poitns to round of Furman's double figure scorers.
Jason Smith and Eugene Talley paced Sewanee (1-5), an NCAA Division III school, with 11 points each.
The Paladins shot 50.0 percent from the field, converting 26-of-52 shots, and a solid 80.0 percent from the line, making good on 20-of-25 free throws. Led by Kenny Zeigler's nine rebounds, Furman earned a slight 34-31 edge on the boards but continued to struggle with its ballhandling, committing 19 turnovers.
Furman returns to action on Sunday when it takes on Louisville at Freedom Hall in a 2:00 p.m. game. The contest will mark only the fourth meeting between the Paladins and Cardinals in basketball and first since the 1969-70 season.
The Paladins return home to host the Poinsettia Classic at Timmons Arena on Dec. 28 and 29th, entertaining New Hampshire in a first round game at 4:00 p.m. on the 28th and either Dartmouth or Stetson in the consolation or touranment championship on the 29th. Tipoff times for games on both days are 1:30 and 4:00 p.m.