 |  |
Furman Falls To Davidson In SoCon Season Opener 81-75
Jan. 6, 2005
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- The Furman Paladins nailed 17 three-pointers, but it was a triple by Davidson¹s Brendan Winters with 1:53 remaining in the game that shifted momentum in the Wildcats¹ favor and helped them to an 81-75 win over Southern Conference foe Furman on Wednesday night in Belk Arena.
For Davidson (6-7, 2-0), who has won the last 15 contests against the Paladins,the victory marked its 10th straight against a SoCon opponent. With the loss, Furman fell to 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the league.
Winters scored a game-high 21 points on 6-of-12 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds to help Davidson to a 31-14 advantage on the glass.
Furman¹s Ben Earle netted a personal-best 20 points on 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, missing his first shot of the night with 2:11 showing on the clock.
The contest featured 26 lead changes and 15 ties, including nine in the second half. After hitting 6-of-13 from three-point land in the first half, Furman nailed eight of its first nine long-range attempts in the final period and held a 66-62 advantage with 3:57 to play.
A Winters layup and a three-point play by senior Logan Kosmalski put Davidson back on top, 67-66, at the 2:51 mark.
Furman came up empty in two chances from downtown on its next possession and Winters nailed the trey to give Davidson the 70-66 advantage. The teams traded three-pointers one final time, before the Wildcats hit 8-of-8 from the charity stipe in the final minute of the contest to shut the door.
Davidson struggled mightily from long range in the first half, missing its first eight three-pointers, and finishing with 2-of-12 at the break. The Wildcats rebounding strength (16-9) and advantage in the paint (10-2) kept the game close, despite a 10-of-20 shooting performance by the Paladins. An Eric Webb triple with just over a minute to play in the first half gave Furman a 32-29 advantage that it held onto until halftime.
The game was made up of little runs by both teams, but neither side obtained a lead bigger than five points until Winters nailed back-to-back free throws to give the ¹Cats a 75-69 lead with 35 seconds remaining in the game.
For the game, Furman shot 52.1 percent from the field, including 54.8 from three-point territory. Davidson, behind a 13-of-21 (.619) second-half shooting performance, ended the contest shooting 51 percent from the floor.
The Wildcats went to the line 20 more times than the Paladins, hitting 25-of-28 foul shots. Furman connected on all eight of its free throws.
A total of 10 individuals scored in double figures, five on each team. Matt McKillop netted 19 points on 6-of-7 from the field. Ian Johnson added 15 points and six rebounds while Kosmalski and Jason Morton contributed 11 points apiece. Furman's Nick Sanders notched a career-high 14 points, making all six of his shot attempts. Webb scored 16 points and Tony Carter and Robby Bostain scored 12 and 11, respectively.
Furman takes on East Tennessee State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
