Jan. 3, 2008

Box Score

Greenville, S.C. - Freshman Jordan Miller led a trio of Paladins in double figures with a career-high 14 points as Furman claimed its first Southern Conference victory of the season with a 64-60 win over Western Carolina Thursday evening before a crowd of 1,554 at Timmons Arena.

Trailing 57-54 with under three minutes remaining, Furman freshman Bobby Austin buried a three-pointer from the top of the key to force the sixth tie of the game. Miller drained a three on the next possession to put Furman up 60-57 with 1:43 left.

After an exchange of turnovers and three consecutive missed jumpers by Western Carolina, George Brozos stepped to the foul line and converted two shots to push the Paladin lead to 62-57 with 21 seconds remaining. The Catamounts answered with a Jake Robinson trey from the right wing, but Justin Dehm connected on 2-of-4 free throw attempts in the final 12 seconds to preserve the four-point victory for the Paladins.

Furman shot 44.4% (13-29) from the field in the first half to grab a 32-31 lead at intermission, but Brandon Giles netted a trey and Arnold Gore added two layups to help Western Carolina grab a 40-34 lead with a 9-0 run early in the second half.

Furman allowed just one Catamount basket over the next 5:55 and Austin drained a pair of three-pointers to tie the game at 42-42 with 10:27 left. The lead changed hands six times before Miller's three with less than two minutes to go put the Paladins in front for good.

Miller shot 4-of-12 from the field, 2-of-7 beyond the arc and converted 4-of-4 free throw attempts to pace Furman with 14 points. The Paladin point guard added four rebounds and four assists while committing just one turnover in 31 minutes. Dehm connected on 3-of-5 treys to total 13 points and Alex Opacic added 10 points and seven rebounds. Austin and Noah States each contributed nine points for Furman.

The Paladins shot just 37.9% (22-58) from the floor, but connected on 10-of-31 three-pointers and outscored the Catamounts 10-3 at the foul line. Furman committed only 11 turnovers while Western Carolina was guilty of 15 miscues. The Catamounts held a 42-37 edge in rebounding.

Gore led the Catamounts with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Robinson totaled 12 points and six rebounds and Giles added 10 points and eight boards. Freshman Michael Porrini chipped in 11 points and four assists for Western Carolina.

The win marked Furman's second straight after the Paladins began the season on an 11-game losing streak. Western Carolina dropped its fourth game in its last five outings.

The Paladins (1-11, 1-3 SoCon) play host to Chattanooga on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Timmons Arena. Western Carolina (4-9, 0-3 SoCon) travels to Davidson on Saturday.