ETSU 71, Furman 62
Damari Monsanto scored a game-high 22 points and East Tennessee State used a key 13-0 run midway through the second half, holding Furman scoreless from the field for almost nine minutes en route to a 71-62 Southern Conference win Saturday afternoon at Freedom Hall.
With the win, ETSU improved to 9-5 overall and 5-1 in Southern Conference play, while the Paladins dropped to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in Southern Conference action. The second-straight loss marks the first time since the 2018-19 season that the Paladins have lost back-to-back league games.
The last time that happened came during the 2018-19 season, as the Paladins dropped games at Wofford (L, 55-59) and UNC Greensboro (L, 79-89) in back-to-back games.
The Paladins scored a season-low 62 points, and were held below 70 points for the first time all season, and it’s the Paladins’ lowest output in a game since Jan. 17, 2020, as Wofford limited the Paladins to just 52 points in a 66-52 nationally-televised game on ESPNU last season.
Monsanto finished the contest by connecting on 8-of-14 shots from the field, including knocking down six of ETSU’s 10 three-pointers, as he continued his hot shooting during the past week. He narrowly missed his second double-double this week, pulling down eight rebounds in the victory over the Paladins.
LeDarrius Brewer, who didn’t play against the Paladins in the first meeting between the two a week ago due to COVID-19 protocols, added to what has been an already impactful season as a part of the Bucs rotation thus far, adding 17 points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal. Lagos, Nigeria product Silas Adheke had one of his better games of his young ETSU career since transferring in from Northern Kentucky in the spring. He finished the afternoon with 14 points, nine rebounds and a steal.
In Monday’s 11-point home win over VMI, Monsanto posted his first-career double-double, with 19 points and 14 rebounds. It was his third double-figure scoring performance in his last four outings.
Furman opened the second half with five-straight points, as it took its first lead of the day, at 34-30, however, as Mounce converted a layup and Bothwell hit a three.
ETSU responded with a 7-2 spurt highlighted by Monsanto’s fifth three of the game to give the Bucs a 37-36 lead, but Furman responded with four-straight on an emphatic tomahawk slam by Mounce and a layup by Bothwell to give the Paladins a 40-37 lead, but four-straight points by David Sloan and a pair of foul shots by Ty Brewer allowed the Bucs to retake the lead, at 43-40, with just under 14 minutes remaining.
Monsanto continued his monster day with a layup increase the Bucs lead to five, at 45-40, and that’s what the score would remain as the two teams headed for their respective benches for the second media timeout of the second half.
ETSU would make it a 13-0 run following a LeDarrius Brewer triple and a layup by Silas Adheke, making it a 50-40 game with 10:32 left, prompting a Bob Richey timeout. Furman would finally end the drought at the foul line, as Mounce drew LeDarrius Brewer’s third foul and knocked down a pair of free throws with just over 10 minutes remaining. However, on the next trip down the floor the Paladins would see Gurley pick up his fourth foul.
The Bucs maintained their double-double lead, 52-42, at the 7:45 media timeout of the second half. Furman would finally end its seven-minute scoring drought on a Mounce triple with 6:25 left, cutting the Bucs’ lead to seven, at 52-45.
Bothwell would get the Paladins within four with a triple, however, following an offensive rebound by Vonnie Patterson on the other end, ETSU had an answer, as the ball found its way to the man with a hot hand, as Monsanto canned his sixth triple of the day to extend the Bucs lead back out to seven with just over five minutes remaining. The two teams traded buckets and the ETSU lead held at seven, 57-50, at the final media timeout of the game.
LeDarrius Brewer then put the dagger in, as his triple off a high screen and the top of the key, and steal and dunk while being fouled by Slawson in the process gave ETSU its largest lead of the day, at 63-50, however, Mounce answered with a three with 2:14 remaining to trim the lead back to 10. Brewer's six-point, game-clinching flurry took just 12 seconds.
Furman would cut it to seven one more time, as Bothwell knocked down a triple with 51 seconds remaining, cutting Furman's deficit to 69-62, but it would prove to be the final points of the night for the Paladins, as a pair of David Sloan foul shots helped the Bucs close out the nine-point win.
The Paladins were paced by a strong performance from Mounce, who after being held to just two points in Wednesday night’s loss at VMI, finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday’s loss to the Bucs. The 22-point effort came on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, which included a 3-for-11 performance from three-point range.
Rounding out the Paladins in double figures in the contest were Mike Bothwell, who posted 17 points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal, while Gurley finished with 13 points.
For the game, ETSU ended up connecting on 44.4% (24-of-54) from the field and shot 41.7% from three (10-of-24) and 72.2% (13-of-18) from the charity stripe.
Furman, meanwhile, struggled for the second-straight game shooting the basketball, connecting on just 41.7% (25-of-60) from the field and a mere 25.8% (8-fo-31) from three-point land. Furman shot only seven free throws for the game, knocking down four of them for a 57.1% clip from the stripe.
After taking an early 40-37 lead in the second half, the Paladins would score only 13 points over the next 13 minutes of game time, which included a nine minute scoring drought, which played a major role in the Paladins lowest scoring output of the season.
The Bucs finished the contest owning advantages in total rebounds (38-30), second chance points (17-7) and bench scoring (18-4). Furman ended up holding advantages in points in the paint (34-24), fast-break points (9-5) and assists (14-13).
There is little rest for the Paladins, as they have a quick turnaround, hosting preseason co-favorite UNC Greensboro on Monday night at Timmons Arena in a nationally televised game for ESPNU. Tip-off time for that contest is slated for 7 p.m. EST.
ETSU, which is now just a half-game back of Wofford (6-1) in the league standings, which face off against arch-rival Chattanooga Wednesday night, as the Bucs go in search of a 12th-straight win over the Mocs in the series. Tip-off time is set for 7 p.m. at Freedom Hall.
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