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| Matt Rafferty (Furman) set to jump it up against Mike Amius (Western Carolina) |
Cullowhee, N.C.--For a third-straight game, Andrew Brown led Furman in scoring, using a career-high 22 points to power the Paladins to a 78-55 win over Western Carolina in Southern Conference action Friday night at the Liston B. Ramsey Activities Center.
With the win, Furman improves to 21-9 overall and 12-5 in Southern Conference play, while Western Carolina drops to 12-18 overall and 7-10 in league action. Furman remained a game up on Wofford in the Southern Conference standings for the No. 3 seed at next week’s Southern Tournament, as the Terriers upset East Tennessee State, 75-71, in Johnson City this evening. The by the Paladins marked their fifth-straight, while marking Western’s fifth-straight defeat.
A win by Furman on Sunday at ETSU means the Paladins clinch the No. 3 seed, however, any tie-breaker between the Paladins and Terriers now would go to Wofford based on their win over the Bucs tonight. Both Furman and Wofford were swept by UNC Greensboro this season. Likely scenarios have Furman facing either Western Carolina or Mercer in the quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference next week, depending of course on Sunday’s results around the league.
Brown scored 16 of his 22 points in the opening half of play, pacing the Paladins to a 44-26 halftime advantage. For the first time in his Paladin career, Brown has led the Paladins in scoring in three-straight contests, and has totaled 57 points in the past three contests. Brown’s 22 points eclipsed his previous career-high of 21 points against Piedmont International, which came on Dec. 1, 2015.
The Travelers Rest native scored 13 of the Paladins’ first 29 points of the game. Brown is 20-for-36 from three-point range in the past six games. He finished his night connecting on 8-of-11 shots from the field, including going 6-of-9 from three-point land. His six three-pointers ties a career-high first established last season in a win over Navy. He is 13-for-20 from three over the past three outings.
In addition to what he did offensively, Brown added four rebounds, two steals and an assist. The only other Paladin in double figures in the contest was Devin Sibley, who finished 5-of-9 from the field, including 1-for-3 from long range in the win. Sibley also contributed six rebounds and had a pair of assists.
The Paladins were red hot from the field in the opening half of play, connecting on 52.9% (18-of-34) from the field and 43.8% (7-of-16) from three-point land. Meanwhile, the Paladins were just as stingy defensively, limiting Western Carolina to just 35.7% (10-of-28) from the field and just 18.2% (2-for-11) from long range. The Paladins went to the halftime locker room, with a comfortable, 44-26 lead.
An early six points on another pair of treys from Brown extended the Paladin lead to 50-28 a little over two minutes into the frame, prompting a Larry Hunter timeout with 17:42 left. Furman would extend its lead to as much as 24, at 74-50, with 1:40 left following a Geoff Beans triple.
The Travelers Rest native scored 13 of the Paladins’ first 29 points of the game. Brown is 20-for-36 from three-point range in the past six games. He finished his night connecting on 8-of-11 shots from the field, including going 6-of-9 from three-point land. His six three-pointers ties a career-high first established last season in a win over Navy. He is 13-for-20 from three over the past three outings.
In addition to what he did offensively, Brown added four rebounds, two steals and an assist. The only other Paladin in double figures in the contest was Devin Sibley, who finished 5-of-9 from the field, including 1-for-3 from long range in the win. Sibley also contributed six rebounds and had a pair of assists.
The Paladins were red hot from the field in the opening half of play, connecting on 52.9% (18-of-34) from the field and 43.8% (7-of-16) from three-point land. Meanwhile, the Paladins were just as stingy defensively, limiting Western Carolina to just 35.7% (10-of-28) from the field and just 18.2% (2-for-11) from long range. The Paladins went to the halftime locker room, with a comfortable, 44-26 lead.
An early six points on another pair of treys from Brown extended the Paladin lead to 50-28 a little over two minutes into the frame, prompting a Larry Hunter timeout with 17:42 left. Furman would extend its lead to as much as 24, at 74-50, with 1:40 left following a Geoff Beans triple.
Western Carolina was led in scoring by a pair of players in double figures, as Mike Amius led the way with 13 points and six rebounds, while Marc Gosselin finished with 11 points and seven boards.
Amius finished the night connecting on 6-of-11 shots from the field, and was 1-for-4 from the charity stripe. The junior from Lakeland, FL., also added two assists, two steals and a block to his overall stat line, while Gosselin finished with two blocks to compliment his other numbers.
Furman finished the night connecting on 54.4% (31-of-57) from the field, and were 40.7% (11-of-27) from three-point land. The Paladins were also 62.5% (5-of-8) from the charity stripe.
The Paladins held the Catamounts to 33.9% (21-of-62) shooting from the field for the game, including just 26.3% (5-for-19) from three-point land. The Paladins also held advantages in points in the paint (34-32), fast-break points (10-4) and bench points (32-25). The Catamounts owned advantages in points off turnovers (14-11) and second chance points (6-2).
Furman out-rebounded Western, 36-35, and both teams committed 14 turnovers. The Paladins used 14 assists to generate 31 made field goals, while the Catamounts had nine assists to compliment 21 buckets.
Both teams will be in action Sunday for their respective regular-season finales. Furman will be on the road at ETSU for a 2 p.m. contest at Freedom Hall. The Catamounts will host The Citadel in a 2 p.m. contest with The Citadel Sunday at the Ramsey Center.
Be sure to check out the full Southern Conference bracket release Sunday, as well as the Tournament preview coming up Thursday at midmajormadness.com. Included in the preview will be notes and quotes from each of the 10 Southern Conference programs.
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