February 25, 2003

FURMAN'S SOUCHU NAMED SOCON PLAYER-OF-THE-WEEK

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman forward Karim Souchu has been named Southern Conference Player-of-the-Week for his performances in a pair of road wins over the past week.

Souchu, a 6-foot-7 senior all-conference performer from Paris, France, averaged 29.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while leading Furman to victories over Wofford on Saturday and East Tennessee State on Monday.

Against Wofford he tallied a game high 27 points and nine rebounds and drained a game winning three-pointer with 20 seconds left to lift the Paladins to a 69-66 win over the Terriers.

In action against East Tennessee State, he registered a career high 32 points and added nine rebounds in helping the Paladins overcome a nine-point halftime deficit on the way to an impressive 84-71 triumph over the Buccaneers, who had entered the game riding a four-game winning streak.

In the two contests he converted 22-of-39 field goal attempts, 11-of-13 free throws, 18 rebounds, four steals and a block. He has averaged 27.2 points over the last five games and 25.0 points in Furman's last nine contests.

Souchu heads into Thursday's regular season finale against UNC Greensboro with 1,967 points, leaving him just 33 points shy of the 2,000-point plateau. Only three players in Furman basketball history have scored 2,000 points in a career: They include All-Americans Frank Selvy (2,538), Jonathan Moore (2,299), and Darrell Floyd (2,281).

Souchu's player-of-the-week selection is the third of his career.

Furman's current four-game conference winning streak is its longest since the 1991-92 season.