Jan. 30, 2010

Box Score

Spartanburg, S.C. - Wofford held Furman to a season-low 46 points and 13.3% shooting from three-point range as the Terriers topped the Paladins 57-46 in Southern Conference men's basketball action on an icy Saturday afternoon at Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C.

The Terriers, who outscored Furman 36-21 after intermission, used a 14-4 second half run to break a 31-31 tie to claim their third straight victory over the Paladins and fifth win the last seven meetings in the series. Wofford improved to 15-8 overall and 7-3 in the SoCon while Furman dropped to 10-11 overall and 4-6 in league play.

After Furman's Brandon Sebirumbi knotted the game at 31-31 with 12:11 remaining, Terry Martin answered with a layup and Kevin Giltner buried back-to-back three-pointers to ignite Wofford's rally that gave the Terriers a 45-35 lead on Tim Johnson's layup with 8:48 left in the game. Wofford limited Furman to just three baskets from the 12:11 mark until Amu Saaka converted from the floor with 51 seconds to play as the Terriers built their advantage to as many as 13 points.

Noah Dahlman scored a team-high 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for Wofford. Forward Tim Johnson totaled 10 points to go with nine rebounds. The Terriers shot just 35.9% (23-64) from the field, including 3-for-16 beyond the arc, but made 14-of-31 second half shots and outscored Furman 34-20 in the paint to muscle past the Paladins. Wofford also managed a 12-2 edge in points off turnovers.

The Paladins, who fashioned a 25-21 halftime lead behind eight first half points from Chris Toler, shot just 30.8% from the field in the second half and were 0-for-8 from three-point range in the period. Furman committed 20 turnovers on the afternoon while recording just four assists.

Junior Jordan Miller led Furman with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Saaka netted eight points and recorded 10 boards. Toler finished with eight points, four rebounds and a career-best four blocked shots.

Furman shot just 36.0% (18-50) and made only 2-of-15 three-point attempts, but the Paladins did hold a 46-35 rebounding edge and swatted seven Wofford shots. After scoring 78 or more points in three of its previous four games, Furman has averaged just 56 points per game in its last three outings.

The Paladins return to Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena to host UNC Greensboro and Elon in a two-game homestand this week. Furman will entertain the Spartans on Thursday at 7 p.m. before hosting the Phoenix on Saturday at 8:05 p.m.

Live statistical updates and play-by-play of all Furman home games are available for free through GameTracker at www.furmanpaladins.com. Furman Paladins basketball can be heard live at WOLT-FM 103.3 and WGOG-FM 96.3.