March 1, 2004

FURMAN'S MALEYE NDOYE NAMED
ALL-SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman Paladins senior forward Maleye Ndoye has been named All-Southern Conference in voting by league head coaches, it was announced today.

Ndoye, a 6-foot-8 native of Dakar, Senegal, was one of 10 players named to the head coaches all-conference squad. He is the fourth Furman player since 2001 and 15th Paladin overall to earn all-league honors since the coaches' team was initiated in 1990. In all Furman has produced 82 all-league selections since 1952 when Frank Selvy was the first Paladin honoree.

"I couldn't be more happy for Maleye," said Furman head coach Larry Davis on Monday. "He's the principal reason for our success this year and a player who probably made more improvement in his game in one year than any player I've had the fortune to coach. He is very deserving of this honor."

Ndoye leads Furman in scoring with a 15.5 points per game average and ranks second in rebounding with a 5.3 rebounds per game clip. He paces the Paladins and ranks third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (43.5 percent) and has converted 77.4 percent of his free throws.

He opened the season with a career high 32-point performance against James Madison and later equaled it in a 91-84 overtime loss at Minnesota. Other top outings this season include a 28-point performance in a 91-55 win over Wofford, a pair of 27-point displays in a 76-61 win over The Citadel and 98-87 triumph over High Point. He scored 26 points in Furman's 77-72 win at Georgia Southern on Feb. 7, which snapped the Eagles' 13-game winning streak, and on Feb. 13 tallied 25 points, including the a game winning jump shot with 1.5 seconds remaining, in the Paladins' 77-73 victory at Wofford.

Ndoye averaged 5.2 points per game as a junior, making his current 15.5 scoring average the greatest improvement by Paladin from his junior to senior seasons since All-American Frank Selvy recorded a jump from 29.5 ppg as junior in 1952-53 to a nation leading 41.7 ppg as senior the following year.

Furman (16-11, 8-8 SoCon), the Southern Conference's South Division No. 4 seed and winners of four of its last five games, squares off against North Division No. 5 seed Western Carolina (13-14, 6-10 SoCon) Wednesday at noon in league tournament action at the North Charleston Coliseum.