Furman Thumps VMI in Lexington

LEXINGTON, VA--Furman held VMI to 37% shooting and the SoCon’s leading scorer Bubba Parham to just six points, as the Paladins defeated the Keydets going away, 89-57, in Southern Conference action Thursday night at Cameron Hall.

With the win, Furman improves to 15-2 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference, while VMI fell to 6-10 overall and 0-4 in league action. The win marked Furman's seventh-straight triumph over the Keydets in the series.

The Paladins had five in double figures, led by Jordan Lyons, who led the Paladins with 21 points, connecting on 7-of-15 from the field and 4-for-11 from three-point range. Lyons was also 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Lyons also added two rebounds, two assists and a steal

Joining Lyons were Clay Mounce (16 pts), Tre Clark (13 pts), Andrew Brown (11 pts) and Matt Rafferty (10 pts). For Mounce, it was his second-straight game in double figures, as he also posted 13 points and 15 boards Saturday. He also contributed a team-high tying six boards tonight. Rafferty also had six boards, five assists and three steals.

Clark's 13 points are a new career-high, eclipsing the 11 points he scored in a win over Charleston Southern earlier this season. He led the Paladin charge off the bench, and his 13 points marked his third double-figure scoring effort this season.

Furman used a 17-6 run to close the opening half to take control of the basketball, with the run buoyed by Jordan Lyons, who scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the opening half, as the Paladins took a 38-24 to the halftime locker room.

With Furman clinging to a 21-18 lead with 4:12 remaining in the half following a Jake Stephens layup for the Keydets. Clark responded with the a dunk of the right side to start the run, giving the Paladins a 23-18 lead. The run would end with a top of the key jumper from Lyons, as the Paladins saw their lead balloon to 17, at 38-21, with just 52 seconds remaining in the half. A Connor Arnold banked in three from the top of the key on the ensuing possessionn set the halftime deficit at 14 for the Keydets.

A 7-0 run to begin the second half would see Furman's lead balloon to 45-24, and the run dating back to the closing minutes of the first half,  became a 24-6 spurt by the Paladins, as Rafferty notched two of his 10 points with a wide-open layup.

Furman redshirt sophomore forward Clay Mounce

Furman never looked back from that strong start to the second half, shooting 52.2% from the field in the second half, as the Paladins connected on 16-of-30 from the field in the second half alone, and that included connecting on 8-for-19 from (42.1%) three-point range. All told, the Paladins finished the contest shooting the ball at a 45.3% (29-of-64) clip for the game, while connecting on 15 triples, shooting a sizzling 44.1% (15-of-34) from long range for the game.

Meanwhile, the Paladins put the clamps down defensively on the Keydets for much of the night, holding the Keydets to just 36.8% (21-of-57) for the game, and just 22.7% (5-for-22) from three-point range.

VMI sophomore guard and reigning SoCon co-Freshman of the Yeaar Bubba Parham, who came into the contest leading the SoCon in scoring average, at 21.9 PPG, was held to just six points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field and 0-for-3 from long range. Parham's six-point performance was his lowest of the 2018-19 season thus far.  It eclipsed his previous season-low of seven points in a loss to Longwood.

VMI ended the night having been led by sophomore wing guard Myles Lewis, who posted 11 points, while fellow classmate Garrett Gilkeson closed out the Keydets in double figures with 10 points, while adding a team-high seven boards.

The Paladins held advantages in points off turnovers (20-10), fast break points (11-8), bench points (34-26), shooting percentage (45.3%-36.8%) and assists (21-10). The Paladins forced 18 VMI turnovers, while committing 11 miscues of their own. The two teams were even on the boards (37-37) and in points in the paint (28-28).

Furman returns to action Saturday with a key contest at UNC Greensboro, with tip-off set for 5 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum, while VMI will host Wofford at Cameron Hall in a 1 p.m. SoCon clash at Cameron Hall Saturday afternoon.