January 10, 2004
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON HOLDS OFF FURMAN, 70-65
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Thomas Mobley scored 16 points while teammate Tony Mitchell added 15 points leading the College of Charleston to a 70-65 win over Furman in men's Southern Conference college basketball action before 3,468 at John Kresse Arena on Saturday.
With the win, Charleston improved to 11-2 overall and 3-0 in the Southern Conference's South Divsion. Furman fell to 7-6 and 0-3.
Mobley hit three 3-pointers to ignite an 18-0 Cougar run that gave Charleston a 21-2 lead with 13:39 left in the first half. Furman answered with a 27-11 run cutting Charleston's lead to 32-29 with 2:42 left in the half. The Cougars led 35-29 at intermission.
After Furman cut the margin to 35-31 in the opening minute of the second half on a layup by Malaye Ndoye, Charleston outscored the Paladins 25-18 to take a 60-49 advantage on a jumper by Mobley with 5:28 remaining.
Charleston led by eight at 64-56 with 1:51 left after Joe Weurding hit two free throws. Furman's Eric Webb hit a pair of free throws, and after two Charleston turnovers, Moussa Diagne had a dunk and a layup that cut Charleston's lead to 64-62 with 1:05 left.
Charleston extended its lead to 67-62 with 30 seconds remaingin by hitting 3-of-4 three throws, but the Paladins battled back and cut the margin to 67-65 when Robby Bostain converted a three-point play with 24 seconds left.
Weurding hit 1-of-2 free throws with 14 seconds left, and after Bostain missed an off-balance 3-pointer from the left wing, Mobley secured the win with two free throws with 1.6 seconds left in the game.
Charleston's Mike Benton recorded his third double-double of the season and the 10th of his career posting 11 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Mitchell added a team-high five assists. Weurding, who entered the game 4-for-6 from the free throw line on the season, converted five of six attempts for the game a pulled down an important six rebounds, including three on the offensive glass.
Bostain led the Paladins with 13 points, while teammates Diagne and Nick Sanders added 12 and 11 points each, respectively. Webb added a game-high six assists.
Charleston shot 46.5 percent from the floor for the game (20-43), including 50.0 percent in the second half connecting on 9-of-18 attempts. Furman, who held a 36-34 rebounding edge, shot 38.7 percent from the floor for the game (24-62).
Both schools are in action again on Tuesday at 7:00. Charleston travels to Greensboro, N.C. to battle league foe UNC Greensboro, while Furman plays host to