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Furman Squanders 13-Point Halftime Lead, Falls At UNCG 65-59
Feb. 4, 2006
Greensboro, N.C. - UNC Greensboro rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to down Furman 65-59 and hand the Paladins their third straight Southern Conference defeat Saturday evening at Fleming Gym in Greensboro, N.C.
The Spartans shot 59.1% (13-22) from the floor in the second half while holding Furman to 22.6% to outscore the Paladins 40-21 over the final 20 minutes. Furman's 21 points in the frame marked its lowest total in a half this season and came on the heels of the Paladins shooting 62.5% (15-24) in the first half.
"We lost our poise in the second half and that is uncharacteristic of us," said Furman head coach Larry Davis. "UNC Greensboro deserves a lot of credit. They fought hard and made shots down the stretch."
After a Dwayne Johnson three-pointer trimmed Furman's lead to 51-48 with 6:45 remaining, Kyle Hines converted a pair of layups and a breakaway dunk to give the Spartans the 54-51 lead with 4:56 left. Jadee Jones immediately answered with a trey and Stanley Jones put the Paladins back on top with a layup at the two minute mark.
David McClenney's tip in evened the score at 56-56 and, after a Stanley Jones jumper rolled across the rim and came off, Ricky Hickman buried a three-pointer with 56 seconds left to give the Spartans a three-point lead. A Jones turnover and two free throws from Hickman extended the Spartan cushion to 61-56 with 27 seconds to go.
Eric Webb sunk a trey to cut the lead back to two points, but Kevin Oleksiak and Hines each converted a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the victory for UNC Greensboro.
Furman, who trailed 3-0 one minute into the game, embarked on a 23-4 run to take a 16-point advantage with 11:14 to go in the first half. UNC Greensboro responded with a 10-0 run of its own, but Furman regained control to take a 38-25 lead into the break. Despite holding a 47-36 lead with 10:44 left in the game, Furman was able to make just three field goals in the final nine and a half minutes of the contest and were outscored 29-12 down the stretch.
Hines paced the Spartans with 17 points, five rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots. Hickman added 14 points, 12 in the second half, while Oleksiak netted 12 points. UNC Greensboro shot 50.0% (23-46) from the field, 7-of-15 beyond the arc and a perfect 12-of-12 at the foul line.
Webb and Robby Bostain led Furman with 11 points while Moussa Diagne chipped in 10 points and four rebounds. The Paladins, who shot 40.0% from the field and made 9-of-28 three-point attempts, were just 3-of-17 from long range in the second half. Furman, led by Tony Carter's six rebounds, managed to hold a 30-26 advantage on the boards.
Furman (12-9, 5-4 SoCon) returns to action Tuesday when it hosts Appalachian State in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena.
