Furman Holds off Georgia Southern in Second Exhibition
Furman sophomore guard Cole Bowser (Photo courtesy of Furman athletics)
GREENVILLE, S.C.--Sophomore guard and Greenville native Abijah Franklin led three Paladins in double figures, posting 20 points, five rebound, three steals and two assists, as Furman held off a furious rally down the stretch from Georgia Southern to get an 85-78 win over its former Southern Conference rival in exhibition basketball action Sunday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
Frankin finished the contest 6-of-20 from the field, including going 1-for-8 from beyond the arc, while finishing 7-for-9 from the charity stripe. He was joined in double figures by Cole Bowser (12 pts, 8 rebs) and Marcus Kell (11 pts, 4 rebs), as the Paladins held a whopping 53-38 on the backboards, which included 25 offensive rebounds.
Bowser finished his afternoon connecting on 4-of-6 shots from the field, which included three thunderous dunks, and finished 3-of-5 from the charity stripe. Bowser also posted eight rebounds and was tied for the team lead with four offensive rebounds.
Kell, a transfer from Western Carolina, spent a good portion of his afternoon battling foul trouble before eventually fouling out the game late, finished the game by connecting on 4-of-8 from the field, which included going 3-for-6 from three-point range, with two of those triples coming late in the game with the game still in the balance.
Other notable performances for the Paladins in Sunday's exhibition win included Charles Johnston, who added eight points, a team-leading nine rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded a pair of steals. Jordan Butler saw 10 minutes of action off the bench, posting nine points on a 3-of-5 shooting performance from three-point range, while senior Davis Molnar finished the game with a solid eight points, four rebounds and four assists in almost 19 minutes of action off the bench.
The Paladins finished the game shooting 38.4% (28-of-73) from the field, including a 32.4% (12-of-37) mark from three-point range, while Georgia Southern finished the afternoon connecting on 38.1% (24-of-63) from the field and connected on 25.9% (7-of-27) from three-point range. Furman finished connecting at a 73.9% (17-of-23) clip from the line, while Georgia Southern knocked down 76.7% (23-of-30) from the line.
The Eagles got 59 of their 75 points from Truman Claytor IV (25 pts), Dallas Gardner (24 pts) and Eltramon Smith (10 pts). Claytor IV's 25 points came on a 7-of-15 shooting effort, which included a 4-for-9 effort from three-point range. He was also 7-for-11 from the charity stripe.
Gardner finished his afternoon by knocking down 7-of-12 shots from the field, including connecting on 2-of-4 from three-point land and was 8-of-9 from the free throw line.
The Paladins held advantages in the following categories: total rebounds (53-38), points in the paint (32-30), total assists (21-7), points from turnovers (22-16) and bench points (32-17). The Eagles held advantages in second-chance points (13-10) and fast-break points (15-7).
How It Happened:
Furman opened up as much as a 12-point lead in the opening 20 minutes, as a powerful Cole Bowser dunk gave the Paladins a seemingly comfortable, 36-24, lead with exactly four minutes remaining in the opening 20 minutes of basketball. However, the Eagles used an 8-1 run to trip Furman's lead to five at the break, as the run was bookended by Dallas Gardner, who started the Eagles run with a pair of made free throws and ended it just before the half with a steal and a layup to make it a 37-32 Georgia Southern deficit at the break.
Furman would flex its muscle in the opening 12 minutes of the second half, using a 27-11 run to race out to an 18-point, 67-49, lead following a pair of dunks from Bowser and Abijah Franklin to increase the lead to 18 with 8:23 remaining.
The Eagles weren't going to go quietly, however, as Georgia Southern went on a 22-8 run of its own over the next six minutes, trimming Furman's once big lead to just two possessions, at 75-71, following Truman Claytor IV's three-pointer with 2:28 remaining.
However, back-to-back clutch threes put the final nails in Georgia Southern's coffin, as the Paladins were able to hold off the late surge by the Eagles.
Furman will return to the hardwood next Sunday when it faces another Southern Conference rival, as the Paladins will be on the road for a 4 p.m. tilt at the College of Charleston.
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