GREENVILLE,
S.C. -- Maleye Ndoye scored a game high 20 points to lead Furman to a 60-47
Southern Conference win over The Citadel Saturday in front a season best 3,487
fans at Timmons Arena. February 21, 2004
NDOYE LEADS FURMAN PAST THE CITADEL
60-47;
PALADINS CLINCH WINNING SEASON
GREENVILLE,
S.C. -- Maleye Ndoye scored a game high 20 points to lead Furman to a 60-47
Southern Conference win over The Citadel Saturday in front a season best 3,487
fans at Timmons Arena.
Ndoye, a 6-foot-8 senior forward from Dakar, Senegal, converted 6-of-12 field goal attempts, including 2-of-5 three-pointers, and 6-of-6 free throws for his 20 points in helping Furman (15-10, 7-7 SoCon) to its third straight win and fourth triumph in its last five games. Ndoye also added seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal for the Paladins, who used the victory to nail down a winning campaign — the second in the last three years but only the third at Furman since 1993.
The Citadel (4-21, 0-14 SoCon) was paced by Kevin Hammack’s 14 points.
"It wasn't a very pretty game, but it was a win," said Furman head coach Larry Davis, whose squad toppled The Citadel 76-61 in Charleston on January 24. "We had some good looks at it early on but couldn't get the shots to fall. We kept battling, made a couple of runs, and gutted it out."
On a day Furman honored its great All-American Frank Selvy on the 50th anniversary of his NCAA record 100-point performance versus Newberry on Feb. 13, 1954, at Greenville’s Textile Hall, the Paladins and Bulldogs struggled to score 100 points between them thanks, in part, to less than stellar shooting.
Furman knocked down 42.0 percent of its shots (21x50) while holding The Citadel to only 29.5 percent from the field (13x44). The Paladins managed to forge a 36-29 rebounding advantage, thanks to a game high eight caroms by freshman Moussa Diagne, who joined Ndoye in double figures with 12 points. Tony Carter delivered eight points and a game high six assists for the Paladins.
A jump shot by Dante Terry gave The Citadel a 9-8 lead midway through the first half, but Carter’s three-pointer a little over a minute later put Furman ahead for good, 11-9.
After Joseph Thompson sank a pair of free throws with 3:41 remaining to cut Furman’s lead to 24-21, the Paladins closed the half with a pair of Ndoye free throws and dunk and a jump shot by Diagne for a 30-21 advantage.
The Citadel opened the second half with 9-2 spurt to slice the Paladin advantage to 32-30 following a three-pointer by Dante Tery at the 16:47 juncture.
After The Citadel answered an Ndoye layup with a pair of Aaron Xia free throws to make it 34-32, Furman took control by reeling off eight straight points to stretch its margin to 10 points at 42-32 following a free throw by Diagne with 11:29 to go.
The Citadel got to within seven points at 44-37 with a Terry three-pointer at 8:16 remaining, but Furman effectively nclosed off any comeback attempt with a layup by Diagne and Ndoye three-pointer with 6:32 left for a 49-37 advantage.
The 3,487 fans in attendance represented a season high and third largest crowd in Timmons Arena’s six-plus year history.
Furman plays its final home game of the season on Wednesday when it entertains the College of Charleston at 7:00 p.m. The Citadel will take on Wofford in Spartanburg on Monday in a 7:00 p.m. contest.
Pictured: Furman athletics director Dr. Gary Clark (left) honors Furman All-American Frank Selvy at halftime of Saturday's game versus The Citadel. Many of Selvy's Paladin teammates joined him a center court in a brief halftime ceremony.