March 2, 2009

Box Score

Spartanburg, S.C. - Wofford outscored Furman 45-25 in the second half to claim an 80-55 victory over the Paladins in the regular season finale for both teams on Monday evening at the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C.

With the win, Wofford improved to 16-13 overall and 12-8 in the Southern Conference while claiming the SoCon South Division's third seed for this week's league tournament. Furman dropped its fifth straight game to fall to 6-23 overall and 4-16 in the league.

Wofford forced 19 Paladin turnovers and outrebounded Furman 43-24 to complete the regular season sweep of the Paladins and claim its third straight victory in Spartanburg against its Upstate rival.

Furman jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead and led 24-19 with under five minutes remaining in the first half when Wofford took control of the game. The Terriers ended the half on a 16-6 run to grab a 35-30 advantage at intermission and outscored Furman 61-31 over the final 25 minutes of the game.

Guard Junior Salters led Wofford with 18 points while sophomore Noah Dahlman added 16. Forward Tim Johnson contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for the Terriers who shot 48.1% (26-54) from the field. Wofford connected on 6-of-16 three-pointers and 22-of-28 trips to the charity stripe.

Sophomore Jordan Miller scored 14 points to pace three Paladins in double figures and lead Furman in scoring for the 17th time this season. Brandon Sebirumbi netted 11 points and Bryson Barnes returned to the Paladin lineup to total 10 points and seven rebounds.

Furman shot 41.7% (20-48) from the floor and converted on 10-of-15 free throw attempts, but allowed the Terriers to grab 18 offensive rebounds.

Furman, the sixth seed from the SoCon South Division, will open play in the 2009 Southern Conference Tournament on Friday when it takes on Samford who earned the third seed in the SoCon North Division. The Paladins and Bulldogs are scheduled to tip-off their first round matchup at approximately 9:30 p.m. at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn. The winner will face second-seeded The Citadel on Saturday at 9:30 p.m.