February 25, 2004
DIAGNE’S 23 POWERS FURMAN PAST COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON, 58-57
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Moussa Diagne (pronounced “Jine”) scored a season high 23 points and converted a three-point play with 3.3 seconds remaining in the game to lift Furman to a 58-57 win over the College of Charleston in Southern Conference basketball action Wednesday night at Timmons Arena.
With Furman trailing 57-55, Diagne took a pass on the left wing from Eric Webb and banked in an 8-foot jump shot to tie the game at 57-57. Fouled on the play by Marcus Johnson, he converted the ensuing free throw to give the Paladins only their second lead of the game. Following a timeout, the Cougars failed to answer when Stanley Jackson’s game winning three-pointer fell short of the rim as time expired.
The victory was the fourth straight and fifth in the last six games for Furman (16-10, 8-7 SoCon) but only the Paladins’ second triumph over the College of Charleston (18-8, 10-5 SoCon) since the Cougars joined the Southern Conference in 1998. The loss was the third straight for College of Charleston, whose last three-game skid came in 1991.
“This win helps us break the mystique the College of Charleston has had over us and shows our kids that they can beat the best teams in the Southern Conference,” said Furman head coach Larry Davis. “It was a struggle for both teams, but we kept saying that we were going to have to find a way and gut it out, and we did. On our last play, everybody kept their heads and did a nice job of executing. We actually wanted Eric Webb to take the three, but he was covered and did a nice job of getting it to Moussa, who made the shot.”
“We are finding ways to beat ourselves,” said second year College of Charleston head coach Tom Herrion. “We shot an uncharacteristic 7-of-17 from the free throw line and couldn’t get a stop when we needed one.'
Diagne, a 6-foot-8 freshman center from Thies, Senegal, who scored 18 of his game high 23 points in the second half, blew past his previous season high of 13 points by converting 9-of-9 field goal attempts, including a pair of three-pointers, and 3-of-4 free throws. He also contributed six rebounds, an assist, and a block in 22 minutes of action.
No other Paladin reached double figures, but Furman forged a 41-29 rebounding advantage paced by Maleye Ndoye’s nine boards and Nick Sanders’ eight caroms.
The College of Charleston got 18 points and nine rebounds from Thomas Mobley, 16 points from Tony Mitchell, and 12 points from Mike Benton. Furman shot 42.6 percent from the field (23x54) while College of Charleston converted 40.4 percent of its field goal attempts (21x52).
Both teams struggled at the free throw line, with the Paladins finding the mark on only 7-of-13 tries (53.8 percent) and College of Charleston on 7-of-17 tries (41.2 percent
Sparked by Mitchell, a junior guard, who went 4-for-4 from three-point range on the way to 14 first half points, the College of Charleston grabbed a 9-7 lead when the Augusta, Ga., product buried a three-pointer at the 12:10 mark on the way to a 31-24 halftime advantage.
A Benton three-point play in the first minute of second half action extended College of Charleston’s lead to 10 points at 34-24 before Furman answered with a pair of layups by Robby Bostain and a jump shot by Marijan Pojatina to slice the Cougar lead to 34-30 with 16:56 to go.
Furman twice faced seven point deficits at 47-40 and 53-46 but both times used Diagne three-pointers to stay close, including his final trey with 2:58 remaining to pull the Paladins to within four points at 53-49.
After a Mobley layup at the 2:34 juncture made it 55-49, Furman countered with a Webb three-pointer with 1:41 to go to pull to within three.
Another Mobley basket with 1:17 remaining extended the Cougars’ lead to 57-52 before Furman — and Diagne — came up big in the game’s final minute. With 57 seconds left Diagne converted the first of his two decisive three-point plays after beating Benton off the dribble for a layup, foul, and free throw. Then, after the College of Charleston’s Stanley Jackson turned the ball over with 30 seconds remaining, Diagne came through again with the game winning three-point play.
Furman, the No. 4 seed in the Southern Conference’s South Division heading into next week’s league tournament, closes out its season on Saturday against Davidson in a 7:00 p.m. game. The College of Charleston will likewise wrap up its regular season on Saturday when it entertains East Tennessee State in a 2:00 p.m. game that will be televised by ESPN2.