January 25, 2003
FURMAN SHOOTS PAST CHATTANOOGA 83-69
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Karim Souchu scored a season high 30 points and added a career high six assists to lead Furman to an 83-69 win over Chattanooga in Southern Conference men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
Souchu, a senior All-Southern Conference forward from Paris, France, connected on 10-of-15 field goal attempts, including 5-of-7 three-pointers, and 5-of-7 free throws for his season high 30 points to help Furman (8-13, 2-5 SoCon South) to its fourth win in its last five games against Chattanooga (12-6, 4-3 SoCon South) and fourth consecutive victory over the Mocs in Greenville.
Chattanooga, led by Ashley Champion’s 13 points, dropped its third straight game and slipped out of first place in the Southern Conference South Division.
“We obviously shot the ball well, and I was pleased with the way we handled their pressure in the second half and made the extra pass to get really open shots,” said Furman head coach Larry Davis, whose team snapped a two-game losing streak and won for only the second time in its last eight games. “I don’t ever remember coaching against a team that trapped every single possession and virtually every pass like they did in the second half, so I was proud of the way our guys handled it.”
“(Karim) Souchu was a man among boys today,” said first-year Chattanooga head coach Jeff Lebo. “We don’t have a guy like that who can get his own shot. We struggled with out shooting, particularly early on when we had some good looks.”
Kenny Zeigler, Tony Carter, and Guilherme Da Luz tallied 11 points each to join Souchu in double figures for the Paladins, who got a game high nine rebounds from Zeigler. In addition to his 11 points, Da Luz flirted with a triple double, registering nine assists and eight rebounds while also tacking on four steals in 36 minutes of action.
Furman enjoyed its best shooting performance since an 83-29 win over Methodist on Dec. 13, converting 24-of-46 field goal attempts (52.2 percent) and 11-of-21 three pointers (52.4 percent). The 11 three-pointers represented a season high for the Paladins, who also cashed in on 24-of-31 free throws (77.4 percent) on the way to matching its season high scoring output.
Chattanooga, meanwhile, struggled from the field, shooting just 38.3 percent from the field (23x60) and 33.3 percent (8x24) from beyond the arc.
The Mocs, who led only once in the game at 4-3 following a Jason Rogan layup at the 18:21 mark, shot only 24.1 percent from the field in the first half and trailed 38-17 at halftime.
Furman stretched its lead to as many as 25 points in the second half when Ryan Chancler drained a three-pointer at the 12:14 juncture following a pass by Souchu to make it a 56-31 game.
From that point UTC chipped away at the Furman advantage and got to within 11 points on a three-pointer by Bryan Richardson with 5:04 left, but the Mocs could never slice the margin to single digits the rest of the way.
Souchu’s 30-point performance was the third of his career. Last year he tallied a career high 31-point effort in an 87-65 win over Methodist in Greenville and 30 points in a 91-78 triumph over Appalachian State, also in Greenville. With his performance against UTC, he improved his career scoring total to 1,772 points, leaving him just one point shy of Bruce Evans (1,773 points, 1989-92), who ranks sixth on Furman’s career scoring chart.
Furman returns to action on Monday night when it takes on Southern Conference North Division leader Appalachian State in Boone in a 7:00 p.m. game.