January 19, 2004
NDOYE'S 27 LEADS FURMAN PAST THE CITADEL, 76-61
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Maleye Ndoye scored a game high 27 points to lead Furman past The Citadel 76-61 in Southern Conference basketball action Monday night at McAlister Field House.
Ndoye, who earlier this season tallied career high 32-point performances versus both James Madison and Minnesota, connected on 9-of-13 field goal attempts, including a career high six three-pointers, and added three free throws to help Furman (9-7, 1-4 SoCon) post its first conference win of the season and 100th triumph over The Citadel in a series that dates back to the 1919-20 season.
Tony Carter chipped 15 points and seven rebounds, and Eric Webb and Moussa Diagne added 10 points each for the Paladins, who also got eight points and 11 rebounds from Nick Sanders.
The Citadel (4-12, 0-5 SoCon) was led by Max Mombollet's 17 points.
"Maleye stepped up for us tonight when we needed it from our senior class," said Furman head coach Larry Davis. "He helped us get back on track after The Citadel made their run and got to within one. He's stepped up for us in situations like this in the past, and he did it again tonight. It was good to get our first conference win."
Furman used three Ndoye three-pointers to race to a 25-10 lead nine minutes into the contest, but The Citadel responded with a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to narrow the Paladin advantage to 25-22 following a three throw by J'mel Everhart with 6:19 to go in the first half.
Leading 35-31 at intermision, the Paladins saw The Citadel claw to within a point at 42-41 after a pair of Mombollet free throws with 17:12 left before reelling off 10 straight points for a 51-41 advantage on a dunk by Diagne at the 13:13 juncture.
The Citadel cut it 53-47 on a layup by Kevin Hammack with 7:27 to go, but Furman responded with another Ndoye three-pointer to spark an 8-0 run en route to a 61-47 lead following a pair of free throws by Nick Sanders with 4:21 left.
From that point Furman finished off the game by converting 10 consecutive free throws and getting a final three-pointer from Ndoye and a Sanders dunk.
The Paladins shot 48.1 percent from the field, converting 25-of-52 attempts and 8-of-22 three-pointers (36.4 percent). After making only three of its first 14 free throw tries, the Paladins knocked down 15 of their final 16 tries to finish 18-of-30 from the stripe (60.0 percent).
Furman claimed a narrow 36-34 rebounding advantage and forced the Bulldogs into 19 turnovers. The Citadel finished the game shooting 38.9 percent from the field (21x54).
The Paladins return to action on Saturday when the entertain Wofford at Timmons Arena in a 1:00 p.m. game.