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Anderson's Career-High 20 Points Lifts Furman Over The Citadel, 63-59
Jan. 22, 2007
Greenville, S.C. - Freshman Tony Anderson scored a career-high 20 points to help Furman overcome a sluggish first half and hold on to beat The Citadel 63-59 before 3,036 Monday evening at Timmons Arena
The win, Furman's third straight overall and fifth straight at Timmons, improves the Paladins to 10-9 overall and 4-4 in Southern Conference play. The Citadel falls to 6-14 overall and 3-6 in the league.
Trailing 55-41 with 6:27 to go, The Citadel exploded on a 18-6 run to cut the Furman lead to 61-59 with 1:07 remaining. Demetrius Nelson started the rally with a pair of layups and a pair of free throws, and guard Kevin Hammack converted a driving layup and buried a three-pointer to pull the Bulldogs within three. J'Mel Everhart hit the front end of a two-shot opportunity at the charity stripe, but the missed the second shot.
Following a Furman miss in the paint, The Citadel had possession with a chance to tie or take the lead, but Gerad Punch stole a Hammack pass on the left wing with 21 seconds remaining and Anderson sunk two free throws for the final margin.
Anderson connected on 5-of-7 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 beyond the arc, and 7-of-9 at the foul line for a game-high 20 points. The Paladins overcame a 26.9% (7-26) shooting effort in the opening 20 minutes to shoot 53.8% (14-26) from the floor in the second half. Furman buried 6-of-13 three-pointers after intermission to finish 9-of-25 from long range.
The Citadel shot 52.0% (13-25) in the second half, but allowed Furman 12 second-chance points in the second period. Donny McLendon paced the Bulldogs with 19 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the field, while Hammack added 17 points and Nelson chipped in 12.
The Citadel opened the game on an 8-0 spurt and held Furman scoreless for the game's first 6:26. Furman followed with a 13-0 run of its own while keeping the Bulldogs off of the scoreboard for the next seven minutes.
Tied at 36-36 with under 11 minutes left in the game, Anderson drained a trey and two free throws to ignite a 19-6 Furman run over the next four minutes. The Paladins managed just one more field goal the rest of the way, but converted 6-of-8 attempts at the line to secure its third straight victory.
Furman opens a three-game road trip Wednesday evening when it faces Appalachian State at 7:00 in Boone, N.C. The Citadel is idle until travelling to Appalachian State at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
