November 30, 2003
MINNESOTA ESCAPES FURMAN, 91-84
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. -- Minnesota escaped Furman Sunday afternoon with a 91-84 overtime win in front of 11,850 fans at Williams Arena.
Furman took a 78-76 lead with 34 seconds left in the game on two free throws by Eric Webb. After Michael Bauer scored to tie the game following missed Adam Boone jumper with 14 seconds remaining, the Paladins failed to convert two chances to win the game in regulation.
Maleye Ndoye, who matched a career high with 32 points, rimmed out a 3-point shot with eight seconds to go, but the Paladins retained possession after the ball went of out bounds with 2.2 second remaining. Ndoye then took a pass from Nick Sanders but could not get a 15-foot jump shot to fall at the buzzer, leading to overtime.
In the extra period, Boone gave the Gophers an 80-78 lead with a steal and layup at the 3:50 mark and later added a 3-pointer with 1:08 to go to make it 88-82. Minnesota converted 8-of-12 free throws in the extra period.
“We had two great looks at it to win the game, but they just didn’t go for us,” said Furman head coach Larry Davis. “In games like this, that’s all you can hope for -- a chance to win the game -- and we had two chances. That’s tough, but I’m very proud of our players and how they battled the entire game. Minnesota came out sharp, and we matched them and battled back. I think we showed a lot of composure, and we’ll look to build on that.”
The Gophers’ Ben Johnson matched Nodye for game high scoring honors with 32 points, and Kris Humphries added 26 and Boone 17. Quan Prowell tallied 15 points for the Furman and Sanders registered a career high 11 points. Tony Carter added eight points and recorded a career high nine assists and five steals.
Furman shot 53.0 percent from the field, making good on 35-of-66 attempts. Minnesota also topped the 50.0 percent plateau (50.8, 30x59) and converted 8-of-16 3-point attempts (50.0 percent). The Gophers outrebounded the Paladins 39-33 and went 23-of-33 from the free throw line while Furman converted just 10-of-16 from the stripe.
Furman took its largest lead of the game at 48-43 on a three-pointer by Ndoye with 16:48 remaining. The Gophers fought back with a 13-4 run capped by a Johnson hoop to take a 56-52 lead with 12:53 left. Furman would tie the game at 71-71 on a Webb trey with 3:14 remaining, but Boone answered on the Gophers’ ensuing possession with a three- pointer to give Minnesota a 74-71 edge. Stan Gaines missed two free throws with 2:16 on the clock and the Paladins reeled off five straight points to lead 76-74 with 1:02 left. Johnson made a fall-away jumper with 48 seconds to knot the game at 76-76.
Minnesota used hot shooting from 3-point range (6x11) in the first half to build a 31-21 advantage with 8:26 to go before Furman rallied with an 18-8 run over the next seven minutes to tie the game at 39-39 on a basket by Sanders with 0:48 remaining. But Minnesota closed the first half with a 41-39 edge after two Johnson free throws.
Furman opens Southern Conference play on Wednesday at UNC Greensboro in a 7:00 p.m. game. The Paladins topped the Spartans 78-74 in overtime in Greenville last year.