ETSU Knocks Off Furman in Battle of Two Top SoCon Games
Senior guard Desonta Bradford connected on a one-handed floater in the lane with 4.5 seconds remaining, and East Tennessee State posted a 62-61 Southern Conference win over Furman Thursday night at Timmons Arena.
With its ninth-straight win, the Bucs improve to 15-4 overall and remain perfect at 6-0 in SoCon play, while Furman drops to 13-6 overall and 4-2 in SoCon play.
Furman found itself down by as many as 12 points (41-29) with 17:47 to play in the game, however, the Paladins would chip away at the ETSU lead the rest of the way. Furman took its first lead since holding a 22-21 lead in the first half, when Daniel Fowler's jumper gave the Paladins a 57-56 lead with 4:56 remaining.
From that point, the game was as advertised between the two SoCon heavyweights, with both teams making big plays and big shots down the stretch. A pair of Jalan McCloud free throws helped the Bucs regain the lead, at 58-57, with 4:40 left, and after both teams went scoreless over the next 1:45 of game action, Furman junior forward Matt Rafferty knocked down a jumper in the lane to help the Paladins regain a one-point, 59-58, lead with 2:55 left.
Following a turnover by Fowler, ETSU's Bo Hodges took a pass from David Burrell and converted a layup, giving the Bucs a 60-59 lead with just over a minute left. The Paladins would turn the ball over and then Rafferty picked up a foul on the Paladins' next possession, but Hodges followed on ETSU's possession missing a three-pointer.
Rafferty rebounded the basketball, and his long outlet pass to Andrew Brown was good enough for Brown to convert a layup on the run-out following a goal-tending call against ETSU, giving the Paladins a 61-60 lead with 20 seconds remaining.
That would set the stage for Bradford, and following an ETSU timeout, the Bucs put the ball in the hands of their do-everything guard, and the Humboldt, TN., native didn't disappoint, as his floating one-handed jump-shot in the lane hit nothing but net with 4.5 seconds left to help ETSU regain the lead, at 62-61.
Instead of taking a timeout, the Paladins in-bounded the ball quickly and got the ball down the floor on the left wing to Fowler, however, his desperation three-pointer was off the mark as the buzzer sounded, allowing ETSU to pick up its first win in Greenville against Furman on the college basketball hardwood since 2004.
ETSU went to the locker room holding a 34-27 lead, holding Furman to just 27.6% shooting from the field in the opening half of play, while connecting on 43.3% of its shots from the field in the opening half of play. After trailing 22-21 with 7:07 remaining in the half, the Bucs closed the half on a 13-5 run to take the seven-point lead into the halftime locker room. The Bucs connected on 6-of-11 shots from downtown (54.5%) in the opening half of play.
The Bucs placed three players in double figures in the contest, with senior guards Bradford and McCloud tying for team-high honors, with 12 points apiece, while senior forward David Burrell posted 11 points.
Bradford connected on 4-of-10 shots from the field, including 2-for-5 from three-point range, and was 2-for-4 from the charity stripe. Additionally, Bradford had two rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Burrell led the Bucs with five boards.
Furman had four players finish in double figures, with Rafferty's 13 points and eight rebounds leading the way for the Paladins. Senior guard John Davis III and Fowler added 12 points apiece, while preseason SoCon Player of the Year Devin Sibley chipped in with 11 points. Sibley left the game late in the second half, with an apparent dislocated finger after getting fouled and landing hard on the floor on a layup attempt.
Rafferty connected on 4-of-14 shots from the field and was 5-for-7 from the line. In addition to his eight rebounds, Rafferty added two assists, two steals and blocked a shot to complete another all around solid performance for the Hinsdale, Ill., native.
Neither team shot above 40% for the game, with the Bucs finishing the contest connecting on 39.7% (23-of-58) from the field for the game, including 42.9% (9-for-21) from three-point range, while Furman finished the contest connecting on 36.4% (20-of-55) from the field, and shot 26.9% (7-for-26) from beyond the arc. The Bucs were 7-of-9 (77.8%) from the free throw line, while the Paladins shot 66.7% (14-of-21) from the line in the contest.
ETSU held advantages in points in the paint (28-20) and bench points (16-7), while the Paladins held a slight edge in points off turnovers (14-10). Both teams were deadlocked in second chance points (10-10) and fast-break points (10-10). The Paladins held a slight, 39-37, edge on the backboards. ETSU finished the game with 14 assists as a team, while Furman posted 11.
ETSU returns to action Saturday, hosting I-40 rival Western Carolina at Freedom Hall, with tip-off set for 4 p.m. Furman will remain inside the friendly confines of Timmons Arena, looking to snap a two-game losing skid when it hosts Samford Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Stay tuned for more updates on all of Thursday night's Southern Conference action.
Updated Power Rankings Following Jan. 18 Action:
1. ETSU (15-4, 6-0 SoCon)
2. Wofford (13-5, 4-1 SoCon)
T-2. UNCG (13-5, 4-1 SoCon)
4. Furman (13-6, 4-2 SoCon)
5. Mercer (10-9, 3-3 SoCon)
6. Western Carolina (8-10, 4-2 SoCon)
7. Samford (7-12, 3-3 SoCon)
8. The Citadel (6-12, 1-5 SoCon)
9. Chattanooga (6-13, 0-6 SoCon)
10. VMI (5-12, 0-6 SoCon)
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