Furman avenges late January loss to Samford

Furman junior guard Jordan Lyons

Furman recorded its school record 23rd regular-season win, as the Paladins had each of their starting five players score in double figures en route to a 90-81 Southern Conference win over Samford Thursday night at the Pete Hanna Center.

With the win, Furman improved to 23-6 overall and 12-5 in Southern Conference action, while Samford dropped to 16-14 overall and 6-11 in league action. Furman's 23 wins also ties the school record--regular-season and postseason--which has been achieved three other times in program history, including each of the two previous seasons. The 1979-80 Paladins, which was the last to visit the NCAA Tournament, also claimed 23 victories.

Furman was led by a pair of double-doubles, as Matt Rafferty registered 15 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore point guard Alex Hunter added 15 points and 10 boards to lead the Paladins to the school record-tying win.

For Rafferty, a senior from Hinsdale, Ill, it was his 14th double-double of the season, while Hunter picked up his second of the campaign. Rafferty also added six assists, a steal and a block, while Hunter added a pair of helpers and a swipe.

The Paladins were led in scoring by junior guard Jordan Lyons' 17-point effort. Lyons more than doubled his total of eight points, which he totaled in that 75-73 loss to Samford a month ago at Timmons Arena. He finished the night connecting on 2-of-7 shots from the field, which both came from beyond the arc to extend his single-season record to 91 triples this season, and he was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.

Clay Mounce (15 pts) and Noah Gurley (11 pts) rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Paladins, while Andrew Brown narrowly missed double figures off the bench, finishing with nine points.

The Paladins used a 15-0 run spanning two halves to take control of the game for good, despite having to weather a furious Bulldog rally down the stretch. Mounce and Hunter scored the final six points of the opening half on a pair of three-pointers, as the Paladins took a 50-35 lead into the Pete Hanna Center locker room.

To open the second half, it was more of the same, as the Paladins opened the frame with a 9-0 run on a triple and layup by Lyons, a pair of free throws by Gurley, and a Hunter made jumper, which prompted a Samford timeout by head coach Scott Padgett, and staked the Paladins to their largest lead of the night at 24 points, as the Paladins led 59-35 with 15:48 remaining.

Samford would attempt to make things interesting down the stretch, however, the Paladins never let their lead be trimmed beyond nine points. A Myron Gordon layup with 2:23 remaining (76-67), a Kevion Nolan three-pointer with 23 seconds left (86-77) and a Brandon Austin made jumper as time expired (90-81) were the only three times the Bulldogs were able to trim the game to nine points inside the final 15 minutes of the contest.

Furman was an impressive 18-for-18 from the charity stripe in the second half alone, and finished the contest an impressive 23-of-24 for the night from the line. The Paladins connected on an impressive 50% (27-of-54) of their shots for the game, while going 46.4% (13-of-28) from beyond the arc. The Paladins' cumulative shooting performance was highlighted by an opening 20 minutes of play, which saw the Paladins sizzle the nets to the tune of a 58.1% (18-of-31) clip, including a 52.9% (9-of-17) from beyond the arc.

Samford was limited to 39.1% (27-of-69) from the field for the game, including just 37.0% (10-of-27) from three-point range. The Bulldogs did out-score the Paladins 46-40 in the second half. The Paladins, who only forced nine turnovers in the contest, made the most of the Samford miscues by netting 25 points. Samford, which forced 13 Paladin miscues, could only muster 15 points off those Furman turnovers.

Aside from out-scoring Samford, 25-15, in the points-off-turnovers category, the Paladins also recorded advantages in fast-break points (4-2) and assists (15-8). The Bulldogs notched advantages in bench scoring (45-34) and total rebounds (37-35). Both teams finished even in points in the paint (34-34) and second-chance points (13-13).

Furman will look for its school-record 24th win Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finale at Chattanooga, with a 2 p.m. tip-off slated for McKenzie Arena. Samford will welcome No. 24 Wofford to the Hanna Center Saturday to close out its regular-season. Tip-off for that contest is slated for 4 p.m. EST.