March 5, 2003
FURMAN FALLS TO VMI IN SOCON FIRST ROUND, 62-56
CHARLESTON, SC - Ben Rand and Radee Skipworth combined to score 43 of VMI's 62 points to lead the Keydets to a 62-56 win over Furman Wednesday in the first round of the 2003 Mountain Dew Southern Conference Basketball Championships.
It was the Keydets' first SoCon Tournament victory in five years. The Keydets (9-19), the fifth-seed from the SoCon North Division, advance to the quarterfinals to play defending champion Davidson, the North's No. 1 seed, Thursday at 6 p.m. The Paladins, the fourth seed from the South, finish the season at 14-17 after entering the tournament on a five-game winning streak
"Obviously, I'd be less than truthful if I wasn't disappointed," said Furman head coach Larry Davis. "We didn't shoot the ball very well. We battled and played hard, but when you shoot poorly from the field and at the free throw line, its not going to get done. Over the last five games, we had shot the ball well, which is why he had had our winning streak. Give VMI credit, though, their zone was effective and Rand's three-point shooting was probably the difference in the game."
Rand, who tied his season high with five three-pointers and was 5-of-6 from long range, gave VMI the lead for good, snapping a 27-27 halftime tie with a triple 29 seconds into the second half. Skipworth scored five points in an 8-1 Keydet blitz which gave VMI its largest lead of the game, 44-33 with 12:08 to play.
Furman was held to a season-low 18 field goals and 31 percent field goal shooting (18-for-58). The Paladins sliced the deficit to five several times in the second half, the last coming on a Guilherme Da Luz three-pointer which made the score 53-48 at 3:34.
After Kenny Zeigler cut the margin to 56-50 with two free throws at the 1:20 mark, the Keydets made 6-of-11 free throws and forced five missed Furman shots to hold on for the victory.
VMI scored eight of the first nine points of the game and led 8-1 at 16:37 of the first half.
A 10-4 Furman run, capped by a Karim Souchu layup at 12:48, cut the margin to 12-11. Souchu's three-pointer at 11:29 tied the score at 14-14. A 6-3 Furman spurt gave the Paladins their largest lead of 20-17 with 7:45 left in the first period. The score was tied at 27 at the break.
Skipworth contributed 21 points and six rebounds. Kenny Zeigler led the Paladins with 18 points and 14 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season. Souchu added 16 points, and Da Luz scored 14. Souchu ends his Furman career with 2,014 points and is just the fourth player in school history to surpass 2,000 points.