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Paladins Hold on to Knock Off UNC Greensboro; Advance to Semifinals of SoCon Tournament
March 1, 2007
North Charleston, S.C. - The fifth-seeded Furman men's basketball team withstood a late rally by fourth-seeded UNC Greensboro to hold on for a 73-71 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Southern Conference Tournament at the North Charleston Coliseum on Thursday afternoon.
The Paladins (15-15) advance to play top-seeded Davidson in the semifinals tomorrow at 6 p.m. The Spartans end their season with a record of 16-14.
A dunk by Furman's Stanley Jones capped a 14-4 run that gave the Paladins a 62-50 advantage with 4:36 remaining in the contest. The Spartans scored nine unanswered points, capitalizing on several Furman turnovers and empty possessions, to cut the lead to three, 62-59, with 2:07 to play.
Senior Moussa Diagne answered back, dumping in back-to-back lay-ups off of offensive rebounds to give Furman the 66-59 lead with 1:14 on the clock. Furman connected on 7-of-8 from the free throw line, holding a 73-71 advantage with six ticks remaining. Two missed Paladin free throws gave the Spartans a glimmer of hope, but Stanley Jones broke up the UNCG inbounds pass to seal the victory.
Furman had three in double figures, led by senior Robby Bostain's 18 points on 5-of-8 from the field. Diagne added 16 and a game-high nine rebounds, while Gerad Punch contributed 14 tallies. Kyle Hines, the reigning SoCon Player of the Year, led all scorers with 33 points on 11-of-17 from the floor. Ricky Hickman had 20 points in his final game for the Spartans.
The Paladins also held a lead of as many as 12 in the opening half before Hines and Hickman combined to outscore Furman 20-4 over a 10-minute span and give Greensboro a 30-26 advantage. The Spartans held on to take a 32-30 lead into the locker room.
The win marks the second time in as many meetings that Furman has ousted UNC Greensboro from the SoCon Tournament. In the only other postseason meeting between the two schools, the Paladins posted a 77-61 victory on March 2, 2000 at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville.
Furman will face Davidson for the eighth time in the league tournament, with the Wildcats holding a 4-3 advantage in the series.
"Obviously if you want to win the (SoCon) title, you've got to go through Davidson," commented Bostain. "We are excited to play them and we'll be ready."
